Forever Werewolf
by clairlz
Summary: This is the next installment in this series. Lance and Chandler are trying to figure out how to turn Jelena into a vampire. Mason brings the trouble to Mick/Beth and Josef's doorstep forcing them to try to put a stop to the plan once and for all. In addition M/B/J have their own issues to deal with. This is rated M for blood, sex and violence, not necessarily in that order.
1. Chapter 1

**Moonlight isn't mine and I have no claim on it or any desire to make a buck off it…..these days it's just a place I go to play…**

**This is an ongoing series. It started in 2008 with Rescued…this is the seventh installment**. **The installments really need to be read in order otherwise it will make no sense. **

**A/N: I've been giving this story some thought and think it's time to try again. Last time I painted myself in to a corner where the only way out was to break Mick and Beth up permanently. Sigh….I blew up the cannon a long time ago but some things are sacrosanct and that is one of them. This chapter is long and it's the story setup so don't be too disappointed by who is and isn't involved.**

**If you're not interested in revisiting this story I understand but for those of you who might like to give this one a second chance, thank you.**

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_ The Duval estate, outside Paris _

The grand estate has been at this location since the fifteen hundreds. Originally one of the king's holdings, it was granted to Stefan Duval, the patriarch of the clan Duval, in the early sixteen hundreds. It was rebuilt once in the mid seventeen hundreds, after Hamilton and Elliot's forces burned the house and all the surrounding buildings, in retaliation for being kept as slaves. Presently it is all very Gothic and somehow suited to a family of some of the bloodiest vampires to grace the European stage. In the eighteen hundreds Mason tried to convince Stephan to modernize the monstrosity they call a home. Stephan would hear none of it. No matter how many times Mason asked, no matter how well presented his arguments were, the answer was always no. In one of Lance's rare moments of insight, he had put a stop to Mason's badgering by pointing out to him, there will always be a sense of blood and death surrounding them, and it won't be wiped away by tearing down the walls. They'd been down that road once and it hadn't changed a damn thing. Lance had understood Mason's reasons for wanting the changed, better than Mason.

Mason eyes his brother from across the great room. Lance is dressed in a black suit, black shirt, black tie, black socks. Mason snorts not wanting to forget Lance's black heart. At one time he hoped that Jelena could change that last bit, but it doesn't seem possible anymore. Lance has disappointed her one too many times and worse yet she is beginning to fear him. Mason only knows one way to make Lance realize what he's losing and that is to take it away from him before there is no turning back. Mason wants his brother to be happy with his chosen mate. It is the only way for any of them have a chance at living in peace. Mason has to get Jelena away from France, somewhere she and Lance can reconnect and Mason has to stay alive in the bargain. One thing is sure, if Mason makes off with his brothers women, the tricky part becomes staying one step ahead of him and getting to safety before Lance can kill him.

Lance and Mason look up as Chandler enters the great room. "How are you and the wolf getting along?" Chandler asks. Chandler could be Lance's dressing mannequin since he also is dressed in the same black, right down to the matching black heart. They look like twin cover models for Esquire, vampire edition.

All the black Lance wears, isn't a bad color paired with his dark hair and matching eyes, even the damaged one fits in with the color scheme. On Chandler whose coloring follows their mother's linage, the black clothing matched with the pale skin, only made paler by death, white blond hair and blue eyes, so soft to almost be white, makes him look ghostly. The only thing either of them is missing to fill out the cliché is a cape and Mason wouldn't put it past Chandler.

Like Lance, Mason is a few inches over six feet, dark hair and eyes. That is where the resemblance ends. Mason has a ready smile and laughing eyes. Instead of Lance's boxy no neck build, Mason is all lean muscle. He doesn't have his brother's brute force, but he does have a fluidity of speed that makes him just as deadly. Lance and Chandler are the primary reason he wears dark blue T-shirts, blue jeans, jack boots and a leather jacket. Mason figures if he's going to look like a cliché he'd rather it is something along the lines of a character from Easy Rider. There is the added bonus that it drives Chandler and Lance crazy to have a member of family looking so pedestrian. Never mind the jeans cost fifteen hundred dollars, and he paid more for the leather jacket and boots than most people make in a year. He grins when he thinks of their insistence that perception is reality and he's bringing people's perception of the family down to the level of the gutter.

"She has a name." Lance snaps. "Use it."

Mason watches his brother. He thought that once Jelena returned, Lance would be calmer. A calm Lance has always been Jelena's contribution to household harmony. Now it seems Lance is angrier and meaner than ever. One thing about Stefan he kept the family together even if the binding was fear and loathing. Since his death, they are slowly fragmenting. If it stops the bloody path of destruction that tends to follow in their wake then he is all for it.

He suspects the reason for Lance's ugly temper is he's finally realized that Jelena has slipped through his fingers. She may have come back but she's lost any illusion she once had about what Lance's priorities. Mason hopes Lance doesn't know how close she is to disappearing.

"All right, how are you and Jelena getting along?" Chandler asks again, not trying hard to keep the sarcasm out of his voice. He doesn't care beyond his need to have her turned into a vampire. In his mind's eye he can see the horror on the local Alpha's face as Chandler presents Jelena as a vampire and what that means to the safety of the European packs. He keeps his glee buried. No use showing Mason just how much he wants this for his own ends. Lance already knows, but as long as Jelena ends up a Vampire at his side, he doesn't care how Chandler uses the information.

"She still doesn't trust me." Lance says as he paces the room. "She loves me but I can tell from the look in her eyes that she doesn't trust me. She thinks my vendetta against Kostan and my desire to see her turned is more important than her happiness. I'm not sure how much longer I can keep her from leaving."

"Smart woman." Mason mumbles from his seat by the window.

Lance turns and tries to back hand his brother.

Mason anticipates Lance's use of violence as a reaction and is across the room before the move is made. "You're getting slow and sloppy in your old age." Mason taunts.

Mason has put up with Lance and taken his orders in part because Lance dispatched the vilest creature in all their lives, their father. Stephan had been a monster. From the time they were children. He had instilled paralyzing fear in all but Remi, who was too crazy to understand the danger. None of them escaped his brutalization. Not Mason, certainly not Coraline, Chandler or Jean, not even Lance. Christophe's good luck was, as an adult he had made himself useful from far far away but his childhood was no different from the rest of them.

Mason thinks back to life with Stephan and has to hold himself very still so as not to begin to shake with fear. He fervently hopes he never again meets any being who has so many incredibly bad traits all wrapped up in one psychotic personality. It wasn't just that Stephan manipulated everyone for his own ends or beat them senseless when they failed, it was the joy he found in every act of pain inflicted. Mason looks at Chandler and Lance and realizes that what's left of the worst of what Stephan's rot is standing in front of him.

Chandler got father's intelligence and sly ability to manipulate the people around him. Unlike Stephan, Chandler doesn't have the brutal streak Stephan used in order to keep things moving the way he wanted when the manipulations need the proper amount of nudging.

No, for that he has Lance who is more than capable of being brutal. To Lance's credit the brutality brings him no joy. It is only the means to an end. If there is one person that can separate the two of them and break the foul partnership it's Jelena. In the past she curbed Lance's worst impulses. Jelena helped Lance greatly in his patricide and Mason has decided it's time she got something out of it beyond being a pawn in Chandler's newest plan and caged in this house of horrors.

Mason smiles, bemused at Lance's attempt to cuff him. Stephan was so sure that none of his children would have the audacity to oppose him he had insisted all his sons know how to fight and fight well. For a moment Lance's cold exterior falls at his surprise at Mason's rebellion. This turns Mason's bemused smile into outright laughter, enraging Lance further.

Lance makes a move towards Mason who smiles coldly. Stephan made Lance the family enforcer because he was the most willing to kill but that doesn't mean Mason won't defend himself. He's the one person in this family with enough speed and finesse who might have a chance against Lance.

Chandler sees what's coming and steps into the middle of the room between the two. "Stop this now. It does nothing to further our goals."

"And what goals would those be?" Mason asks. "Are those the ones where you find a way to turn Jelena so she's more or less chained to Lance for the rest of her existence? Are they the ones where you use her as an example to the rest of the werewolf population to force them to do as you wish? Or are they the ones where the two of you find a way to use her to get to Josef?"

"All of the above." Chandler bites out. Mason notices that Lance stays silent on these motives. Maybe there is hope yet. Chandler looks closely at Mason. "What do you care? Did Lance make a mistake having you watch over Jelena when she left him?"

Lance calculates how to get around Chandler so he can rip out Mason's throat. The idea that his younger brother has somehow taken a liking to Jelena is intolerable.

Mason smiles slyly, letting both of them wonder as to his interest in Jelena. "Well as to the first one I'm thinking that it's too late. Wolves tend to think in terms of actions not words, and you brother, have shown her in word and deed what you value most and it's not her life. Unless you follow in Coraline's footsteps I doubt Jelena is ever going to agree to be turned. That door is closed." He taunts.

Lance pushes past Chandler, intent on Mason's throat but once again Mason is ready for him, as a large silver alloy knife appears from the sheath at his back. He faces Lance, knife in his right hand, waving Lance in with his left. "Come on Lance. I may not kill you but I guarantee it's going to hurt like a son of a bitch."

Lance stops. He knows the knife is not Mason's only weapon. There is most likely a gun close at hand. Normally he it would not be enough to stop him but he knows killing one of his brothers would cause him more trouble with Jelena. In addition Mason is fast and he can carve a man up before he knows what's happening, so just beating the hell out of him is problematic. "Don't close your eyes, don't turn your back." Lance says with deadly calm.

Mason laughs coldly. "In this family? I stopped doing that a long time ago." Mason backs out of the room, his knife aimed at Lance's heart. He tips an imaginary hat and smiles. "Adieu brother dear."

Lance glares at Chandler wondering if beating him would make Lance feel any better and decides he needs to keep Chandler on his side if Mason has indeed found some backbone. He snarls in frustration and stalks out of the room.

Once he is outside Mason smiles grimly as he smells the scent of a wolf. Hopefully he made enough of a fuss and kept Lance busy enough to give her time to escape. He just wonders how long it will take Lance to find out she's gone. As Mason approaches his beautiful little Aston Martin he sighs. He's going to miss this car. He gets in and speeds to his rendezvous with Jelena. Chandler was right about one thing; Mason did become fond of Jelena when Lance forced him to watch over her.

He also thinks it's a grave mistake to give his brothers the power they can gain if they succeed in bringing the werewolf population to its knees. He knows that is exactly what will happen if they find someone to turn Jelena into a vampire. And at this point he would not put it past them to do it whether she wants them to or not. Chandler has too many plans in motion for this to end well for Jelena. Then there is Lance's delusion that she will understand once she's turned. Mason snorts; you'd think Lance would have learned something from Coraline's mistake with St. John.

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A mile from the Duvall estate, Jelena flops down in the grass next to the stream that winds its way through the Duvall estate and then flows into the Seine. This portion of the estate is heavily wooded, the only break where the stream and road cross back and forth upon each other. For a wolf, it's the best escape route. She's been running as fast as her four feet will carry her. She turns and looks behind her and as expected she senses no one on her trail. Fast as they are, not even the vampires could catch her in these woods. Anyone who doesn't have an animal's instinct for moving easily through thick underbrush and low hanging tree limbs is going to be at a disadvantage.

She laps up some more water and then turns back to the path ahead of her. Just because there is no one behind her now, doesn't mean Lance won't discover she's gone and set out after her. Wasting time now could be her down fall.

It always bothered Mason that Josef talked Jelena into going back to Lance. Mason can't imagine what Josef had to gain, except time. Thankfully even with Josef's reassurances, Jelena still had worries. Since she no longer trusts Lance it didn't take her long to come to Mason with some very pointed questions about what it is like to be turned, and how her relationship with Lance would be affected. He told her the truth and he could see the fear in her eyes. "I will help you if you'd like." He had offered.

She had nodded mutely.

"Since you are still captain of the guard all you'll need is someone to keep Lance and Chandler occupied while you flee."

"But where will I go? Because of the trouble I've caused, the mistakes I've made, the packs won't have me and even if they would I don't want Lance viewing them as an obstacle between us. I don't want to bring his wrath to their doorstep. I've caused enough trouble for them." She said.

"I have a couple of ideas about that. Let's see about getting you to safety then we'll worry about the rest."

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Mason quickly punches the buttons on the Austin's dash to put a call through to the one person who might be able to help. "Christophe?"

"Mason? Is that you?"

"It is. I need a safe house for two. Can you help me out?"

"I take it your hiding from the family or you'd just hold up at home."

Mason smiles at his brother's dry tone. "That would be a yes. Lance and I've had a bit of a falling out, and when he figures out what I've done he won't be in the least bit happy."

"Who else are you bringing with you? Do you need two beds or one?"

Mason laughs. "Better make it two. I suspect this woman has had enough of sleeping with a Duvall brother."

"You didn't." Christophe says

"I did. I just helped Jelena escape, not that he would call it captivity. He calls it protection. The problem is, she doesn't have anywhere to go, so it's you or maybe I can get Josef to lend a hand. I suspect he may have reasons of his own to want her to stay safe." Mason doesn't like the long pause that follows his admission. "Christophe?"

Christophe sighs. "I hate to say this, but can you see if Josef will shelter her? Anna...she's still so new...Lance protected her before the turn because of what she was and the prestige she presented. That's all gone. I don't think he would hesitate to use whatever method he has at his disposal to get to you and Jelena."

Mason frowns he had not anticipated this. "You must have people at your disposal that can help protect Anna. You have your own territory and the resources that come with it."

"I have some, but you and I both know what Lance is capable of when he wants something and it is being denied him. I would rather not risk Anna or my people if there is another way. Josef has far more backing than I do. Because of Vanessa there are limits to what even Lance would do where Josef and his people are concerned."

Mason nods thoughtfully. "Point taken. See what you can do about a safe place that won't compromise you and Anna if Josef turns her down. Can you do that?"

"Yes but it will take some time. Try Josef first. If you can get to Beth, get her on your side," Christophe smiles to himself at Josef's love for Beth. "He loves her a great deal and he will do whatever he can to make her happy. What about your own skin? Surely you're not counting on Josef giving you shelter?"

"No, I think the Duvall's have worn out their welcome with Josef and his people."

"You'd be surprised." Christophe says as he thinks of how kind Josef, Beth and Mick were to him and Anna when she was turned.

"I know that you and Anna had good luck with them, but don't you think that had more to do with Anna? She and Josef have been friends a long time. Between Josef and St. John they are already culpable in the deaths of two of our siblings."

"Mason, you and I both know that the deaths were warranted." He says harsher than he intends. "You know what Coraline did to Mick and Beth, and as for Remi I would have killed him myself if Josef hadn't. What he did to Anna and Mick was unconscionable. It was past time both of them were held to account for the things they'd done. If Lance and Chandler don't watch out they will find the same reckoning. There are a lot of vampires and werewolves that would go to a great deal of trouble to stop their plan to turn a wolf into vampire."

"You know about that?" Mason asks in surprise.

"Of course." Christophe says impatiently. "Vanessa has made it a death sentence to turn a wolf. She even altered the language in the edict proclaiming that it doesn't matter whether the wolf allows it or not. It's still a death sentence. She has persuaded many of the ruling council's in other parts of the world to follow suit. No one wants war. She's also negotiating with the families enemies in Europe but I don't hold out much hope. They like things too much the way they are."

Mason sighs. "I know you're right."

"Mason, there is one additional thing you should be prepared for if you go to Josef. I've been told that Kaida and her lover are living with them. I'm sure Kaida does not remember her time with us fondly. I'm quite sure if Josef hadn't found a way to stop her last year, she would have killed Jelena when Jorge took the contract out on her. I don't think she has any animosity towards Jelena it was just a way to inflict pain on Lance."

Mason is too dumbfounded to reply.

Christophe continues through the silence. "Anna and I were gone by the time she'd come back to the states. She was in pretty rough shape when Josef claimed her from father as payment. Even though you didn't harm her, you might have to do some awfully fast talking our find yourself on the wrong end of a sword."

"That would be bloody inconvenient."

"Wouldn't it just." Christophe says

Mason doesn't tell Christophe that when he last saw Kaida her memory was gone. That might lead to some uncomfortable questions. Mason runs his fingers through his hair. "I'll just have to take that chance. I have to take Jelena somewhere and Josef could be her only hope."

"Do you need help with papers; fake I.D., passports, that kind of thing?" Christophe asks

"No, I saw this coming when she left Lance the last time and planned ahead. The only thing I couldn't figure out was where to take her so she'd be safe until Lance comes to his senses and admits that he loves her enough to walk away from the family."

Christophe snorts. "You walk a fine line."

"Don't I know it? I'll let you know what happens." Mason clicks off. _If I live through it_

His mind turns back to Kaida. She is so beautiful, even covered from head to toe with muck and mud. He hasn't seen her since a few weeks before Josef freed her two hundred years ago but he can still see her clearly in his mind. She always sparked something deep in him. If she remembers the wrong thing he could be dead long before Lance gets a hold of him.

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Before Jelena turns back to her human form, she sniffs the breeze once again. When she finds no scent of vampire she stays well back in the shadows and turns back to her human form. She takes the pack off her back, it contains clothing, money, the jewelry Lance gave her. She quickly dresses in her leathers and clutches her pack. She knows she has to get off this continent.

She's a little dizzy when she thinks of the chance she is taking in trusting Mason. She's learned trusting a Duvall is a chancy proposition if you can't see what their ultimate reward will be. In this case Mason is risking a lot for her and she sees no reason for him to do it and that scares her. When he offered to help her, she leapt at the offer because she knows there is no other way out. She has only herself to blame for her lack of options. The only thing she can do, is hope Mason's reasons mirror her own long enough for her to find a place to hide. Then she has to hope Lance gives up his quest to turn her. Jelena stays in the shadows, waiting for Mason and hoping he didn't change his mind.

A few minutes later Mason pulls up at a wide spot in the road. He leans across the passenger's seat and opens the door. "Come on Jelena." When she doesn't appear he gets out and looks over the top of the car, into the shadows. "I know you're there, even if I couldn't see you in the dark, I can smell your wolf. I haven't changed my mind. I won't betray you. Come out of the dark and get in. We need to be away from here as soon as possible."

Jelena thinks about her options again and sighs. There isn't much else she can do but trust Mason. She walks out of the shadows and gets in the car. "Where to?" she asks.

He grins at her. His eyes lighting up his face with confidence he doesn't feel. "We're going to take the scenic route to America."

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**Here we go. I know it's kind of a drag starting with the bad guys but the setup had to come first. It's set in motion. Please leave comment. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Moonlight isn't mine. These days it's just a place I go to play…**

**This is an ongoing series. It started in 2008 with Rescued. This is the seventh installment****. ****The installments need to be read in order otherwise the series won't make any sense. **

**A/N: If you review as a 'guest' I can't answer your questions and I'm glad to answer questions. Yes, this story is a redo of the one I started and gave up on in…2012 or 13?**

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Mick watches Beth from the doorway. All these years, and he's still crazy in love with her. He glances around the room. She's made this office her own. When Josef purchased the house, they couldn't move in right away because it had to be brought up to Josef's standards. Mick smiles remembering Josef's grumbling over the renovations and then having the decorator take up all his time with questions. He suspects Josef enjoyed it more than he was willing to admit.

When all that was remaining, were four rooms, Mick and Beth's offices and bedrooms, Josef and Abby Reynolds, the decorator, had come to them for input. Mick had looked over Abby's sketches and notes and it was something he liked. "That's fine." Mick said. "I like it. Do that."

Next Josef and Abby approached Beth with a second set of notes and sketches. Josef smiled when Beth turned up her nose at the proposal. He tried to tell Abby that it was wrong for Beth but she was so sure she could make Beth 'see' the possibilities. "You don't like any of it?" Abby was aghast.

"Nope." Beth said with a smile. "Sorry."

"I told you it isn't to her taste." Josef said

"Yes, but it fits in with the other things you've selected for the house. Anything else will be out of place." she sputtered.

Beth grinned at Josef. "You don't care, do you?"

"Of course not. You tell her what you want." He glowered at Abby "I don't care if she wants the rooms painted with black and white stripes. Whatever she wants is fine."

Abby sighed and realized she wasn't going to win this battle. This is the third house she'd done for Josef and she can sense his moods. She'd hoped to convince Josef to let her show the house for a few days before he and his friends moved in, to show off her work. The house is going to be amazing when finished, but now, _well maybe the next one._

Mick scans the room. Abby was wrong, this room and Beth's bedroom are different but they do fit in fine with the rest of the house. Josef and Mick like a mix of old and new styles. Aside from the antique desk that Josef bought Beth, most of the things in Beth's rooms are from the present. The rest of the house is expensive craftsmanship, lots of wood, clean lines and hard surfaces. It's a mix of old, expensive antiques that Josef purchased new. Beth's rooms are softer, deep pile carpet, drapes covering the window blinds, soft furniture and more feminine. It is a contrast with the rest of the house not a clash.

Mick looks over Beth's pictures on the walls. He sees a framed copy of her first article to show up in print, her college diploma and lots of pictures of the three of them. He stops when he gets to the picture of her holding a mic and talking into Steve's camera. It was the first night he'd seen her since she'd returned from college. With a smile he thinks back to that young woman walking barefoot through the fountain.

Once Buzzwire's new owner had run the company into the ground, Mick had gone in search for the original tape from that night. Steve still had it and was more than willing to sell it. Mick had taken the tape to an expert who made high grade stills. After that he had the photos framed by a professional. The twin is hanging on his office wall. That moment was such a turning point in both their lives, neither of them ever wants to forget it.

Beth is sitting in the middle of the floor, papers strewn all around her. She's wearing jeans, a loose cotton blouse with an open black vest over it. Her hair is up in messy knot at the back of her head. He reaches out to touch a stray blond curl at the back of her neck but lets his hand drop. That's not why he's here. He could lose himself in her arms, but once they parted the memories would just come rushing back and he'd still be lost. He recognizes the work patterns she goes through as she gears up for a new story. She's organizing her research notes. "Why do you still use paper?" he asks.

She of course sensed him the moment he'd entered the room. Without looking up she answers him. "Most of the time it's inconvenient to take notes on the laptop or my tablet. All these notes will end up on the computer but when I'm interviewing someon it can be awkward, especially if I'm interviewing a vampire."

Mick looks at her a bit puzzled. "Why?"

"If they are older than the technology, and who besides me isn't," she says dryly. "They are either enamored of it, that they want to look over my shoulder or so mistrustful of it that they won't talk at all."

Mick nods. "Yea, I've met more than a few who fall into either category." he looks a little uncomfortable. "I was wondering, if you had a few minutes to take a break?"

Beth sighs inwardly. She knows why he's here and she had hoped he'd make it through the next couple of days on his own. She's glad she and Josef prepared for the possibility Mick would be upset. She looks at him questioningly as she hears the edge of gloom in his voice. Even now the sight of him takes her breath away. He's so damn gorgeous. Dark hair, with a bit of curl, and a heartbreaking smile are the cherry on top of a masculine, welt built vampire. He's wearing his usual black jeans and a Henley. He looks scrumptious but she wishes he would wear the dark blue T shirts she bought him. He complained that they were a little tight. She laughed and told him that was the point.

Mick feels like an idiot. "Never mind." He begins to turn away.

Beth springs to her feet. The last thing she wants is for him to go off by himself to brood. "Oh, no you don't." she tiptoes through her notes and moves to stand in front of him. She reaches up and cups his face in her hands. "Talk to me."

"I…" he hesitates feeling stupider by the minute.

"Mick, talk to me." Beth says softly as she brushes a curl off his forehead. She feels his hands rest on her hips and pulls him closer, urging him to let her comfort him.

"I'm just feeling a little melancholy." he pauses running his hands from Beth's hips to her ribcage. "Tomorrow is my birthday." He rushes on not wanting to give her a chance to tell him what an idiot he's being. "It's ridiculous. It's been almost a hundred years and even I forgot until a few minutes ago, but when it hit me..."

Beth nods. "You got a rush from your past with your family."

She watches his long dark eyelashes against his skin as he closes his eyes and sighs. "My parents and my sisters have been dead a long time, but their all still fresh in here." he taps his chest.

Beth lays her head on his chest. Josef warned her that this might happen. He said Mick has good years and bad ones and you never how he's going react. She supposes in the past, he'd always hidden this from her. She's glad he feels he can share this pain with her._ Josef?_

_Yes?_

_Are you alone?_

_Yes, Kaida and Tucker are busy elsewhere._

_Good. Can you meet me and Mick in the stables in a couple minutes?_

_How bad is he?_

_Not terrible, but he needs a distraction._

She hears Josef laughter in her head. _Our surprise should do that. I'll change and meet you there._

She looks up at Mick, tears in her eyes. "You have to let them go. I don't want to lose you because you can't or won't let go of them. You can't tell me your family would want you tearing yourself up this way."

He looks a little embarrassed. "My mother." he trails off shaking his head to clear the choked up feeling in his throat. "Let's just say she would not be pleased. All she ever wanted was for me to be happy." He starts to turn away from her but Beth fists his shirt. "You're not going anywhere without me."

He sees the determination in her eyes. He shakes his head and smiles softly. She's always there when he needs her. He glances over her shoulder and nods towards the mess of papers. "You're busy."

She shakes her head. "I'm never too busy for you or anyone else in my family. I may have my dad and his family back but you and Josef will always be my family. We can't ever replace your folks and sisters but I want you to think of us as family. You know we'll be here for you like they would have been." She wipes the errant tears and smiles.

He hugs her close, knowing she's right. "You and Josef are my family now and I need to start remembering that and not what I've lost."

Beth nods. "I hope so and I knew it was your birthday."

He leans back and looks down at her. "You did? How?" but before she answers he finishes his own question. "Josef."

"No, not at first. At first I looked it up. If you know where to look, you're not hard to trace." she shrugs. "A while back I realized none of us celebrate any holidays, no birthdays, not even Christmas."

"We celebrate Valentine's day." Mick says.

She snorts at him. "Yea, so I can get lingerie. That's not quite what I had in mind." Beth continues. "It's always too chaotic or it could be that vampires just don't. Anyway I decided it was time to change. I talked to Josef about it. I wanted to get you something but I wasn't sure if I should."

"Josef told you it wasn't a great idea." he finishes for her.

She nods. "Yes, he said some years it's better to not remind you of your birthday. He said when you're having a hard time the only thing you need, is to be with people who care about you." She sees the sour look on his face. "What does that look mean?"

"I hate being so damn predictable." he grumbles.

"Oh, poo." she says playfully as she takes his hand tugging him towards the open door. "Come with me. We decided that we wanted to get you something anyway. We'd wait for the right to give it to you." she smirks at him, mischief clear in her eyes. "I think this will distract you from your melancholy."

Mick has a sudden thought that he knows would distract him. "Is it new lingerie?" he asks.

Beth stops and looks at him thoughtfully. "I didn't know you wanted lingerie. I can get you something read and lacy at the same place I get mine. Would you like a different color?"

Mick burst out laughing and pulls her close. "I love you so much. You are the joy in my heart."

"Stop guessing and come with me." She says pulling on his arm.

A few minutes later Beth glances behind her and sees the look of confusion on his face as she leads him into the stables. "I hid it down here in the office so you wouldn't find it." Beth says. The last thing she wants is for him to get an idea as to what she and Josef have in store for him and have him bolt.

Josef is lounging behind the desk in the office, feet up on the desk grinning like the cat that swallowed the canary. Beth notes that he's wearing jeans, a long sleeved T-shirt and looking oh so sexy. She smiles and shakes her head at the laughter in his eyes. "Behave." She admonishes him. The last thing she needs is him spooking Mick.

Mick sees the smirk on Josef's face when they enter the office and gets an uneasy feeling.

Beth picks a box off the desk and hands it to Mick. It's not huge but is a bit heavy and definitely not lingerie. He shakes it but doesn't hear any rattles.

Beth lets out a snicker. "Just open it."

Mick again glances at Josef and knows what ever is in the box; it's going to distract him because it's trouble. He sets the present on the desk to unwrap it. He opens the unmarked box and it falls into place. He's speechless. He doesn't want to hurt Beth's feelings, but the last thing he wants, is what's in the box, riding boots.

"Well?" she asks. "They're cross between a cowboy boot and motorcycle boot. They seemed like they would be more your style than an out and out cowboy boot."

Mick glances at Josef who is failing at trying to hide his glee at Mick's discomfort. "Ah, they're nice." Mick says and he realizes they are. They are a deep brown; the leather is thick but worked so it should be very comfortable. The craftsmanship shows. These are very expensive.

Beth hears the trepidation in his voice but chooses to ignore it. _"_There's two more things." she says and pulls on his arm. "Come here."

Mick follows her back into the main stable and sees Josef leaning against the wall, a silent laugh lighting his eyes.

"Show him." Beth says to Josef.

Josef turns to the stall next to him and opens the upper half of the stall door, and inside is a horse. Mick doesn't spend much time in the stables but he knows both Beth and Josef's horses on sight, and this horse is a new addition. The animal is a very dark brown and white. It occurs to Mick that it looks like someone threw a couple of buckets of white paint at him. "Ah, Beth I know you want to teach me to ride and I appreciate it, I do."

He glances at her and sees narrowed eyes. "But?" she says.

He glances down at the boots and back at the horse. He knows Beth and Josef went to a lot of trouble to do this, but he has to try one last time to get out of this predicament. "I'm not cut out for this. I grew up in the city."

"So did I." she says.

"But you rode when you were a teenager. Other than my small exposure to Smoky and Kingston, I've never been near a horse in my life." Mick can see the determination in her eyes and suspects he's lost already.

"Mick, you've taught me so many things, I want to do this for you. Once you get use to the horses you'll enjoy it. I'm sure you will. Come over here."

He looks at her suspiciously. "Why?" he asks as he moves toward her.

Beth takes his hand and puts a carrot in it. "Hold your hand out flat and feed him."

Mick does as he's told and feels the soft nuzzle of the horses nose as he smells the carrot. Then he feels the soft scrape of his teeth as the carrot disappears. Mick lifts his hand and strokes the animal's nose. The horse tries to nuzzle his hand again looking for another treat, despite himself Mick smiles.

"Please?" Beth asks

Almost to punctuate Beth's plea the horse softly whinnies and nods his head.

"What's his name?" Mick asks

"Scout." Beth answers

Mick gives her a lopsided grin. "That's the name of The Lone Ranger's horse. I loved listening to that program on the radio when I was a kid."

"Figures." Josef says dryly.

"I'd hoped so." Beth says. "When Josef talked to Mr. Hudson about a horse for you, we requested it be trained with that name."

Mick runs his hand over Scouts nose. He shakes his head at her thoughtfulness and takes a deep breath and turns to Beth. "When's the first lesson?"

"We'll come down tomorrow night and you can spend time with him, get use to him so you're not so hesitant. If you're nervous he'll sense it and take advantage, no matter how well he's trained."

Mick has his doubts about this idea but he can see from the look on her face that this means a lot to her. "Alright, I'll give it a shot."

Beth hugs him close. "Thank you."

"It's never a bad idea to have skills. You never know when you'll need them." Josef says.

Josef has moved to stand in front of another stable. "Now that you've agreed to learn to ride the horse…."

Mick holds up his hand. "I said I'd try."

Beth smiles up at him. "That's all I ask." She grins up at him. "We have another present for you."

Mick's not sure he can take another present from these two.

Beth nods to Josef who opens another stable. Mick's mouth falls open as he recognizes the classic custom built Harley Davidson motorcycle. It's all over chrome, lots of chrome, and black. He whistles low in appreciation. "I haven't ridden in years." he walks around the bike. He glances at Josef, unable able to take his eyes off the motorcycle. "This looks familiar."

Josef laughs. "It should. You lost to me in a card game in the seventies. I had it restored and put into storage."

Mick nods. "Back then, it never looked this good."

Beth puts her hands on her hips and pretends to be mad. "So you like the motorcycle better than the horse?"

Mick nods wordlessly.

"I told you so." Josef says

Mick turns to Josef, mischievous smile lighting up his face. "I have an idea you're right. We all need our skills."

Josef never likes it when he hears his own words ringing in his ears. Josef is sure he isn't going to like it.

"It's high time Beth learned to ride a motorcycle." Mick says

"Really?" Beth says. The excitement in her voice is clear. "I want one of those racy looking ones where you're almost laying down when you ride." She moves over and hugs Mick.

"A crotch rocket? No way. It's not a motorcycle for a beginner." Mick says glaring down at her.

Josef lets out a silent sigh of relief.

Mick nods. "You can teach me to ride Scout and for your birthday, you and I will go shopping and I'll buy you a motorcycle that you can learn on safely. After that you can get whatever you want."

Josef knows he can't object, no matter how much he dislikes this idea and he dislikes it a great deal. He pushes his anger away for the moment. The last thing he needs is for Beth to get stubborn about this because she thinks he's being over protective. "Then for her birthday, I'll buy her leathers and boots." He says. It's the only thing he can say now.

Mick nods. "Good idea."

"Do I have to wear a helmet?" she asks

"Yes." Both men intone.

"And I'll buy that as well." Josef says

"Just because you'll heal doesn't mean it won't hurt like hell if you dump the bike." Mick adds.

Beth laughs. "If that's the case then I get to buy both of you cowboy hats."

Mick rolls his eyes. "It's not the same thing."

"And chaps." she adds with a gleam in her eye.

Josef laughs. "Only if I get to pick out a pair for you as well."

"Now that sounds like something I'd like to see." Mick agrees. He looks down at Beth still hugging him. "You were right. This is a distraction, a good one. Ah, not that I'm not in love with the horse and all..." His eyes keep sliding to the Harley.

"But you want to go ride the bike."

Mick scowls at her. "Harley, Beth, Harley. It's not a bike."

She laughs and shakes her head. "Whatever."

"I figured this was the way it would go. When Jack took it out of storage he did the maintenance so it's ready to go." Jose tells him. "There's a helmet in the corner of the stable."

"Would you like to go with me?" Mick asks Beth,

"You bet, I've never been on a motorcycle, but I don't have a helmet."

"There is a second one in the garage. Go up and ask Jack for it." Josef says.

"Mick, would you go up and talk to Jack and get the helmet? I'll meet you up there in a minute. I need to give Smoky, Kingston and Scout their treats."

"Sure. I'll meet you in front of the house in a few minutes." He grabs up the boots and puts one in each of the Harley's saddle bags. He rolls the Harley out of the stable. "Thanks, both of you. This is the best birthday I've had in a long time."

Mick starts the motorcycle and he disappears up to the main house.

Josef moves over and puts his arm around Beth's shoulders. "You did good."

She shakes her head. "No, we did good. With luck, from now on he'll remember this. Replacing his old memories with more recent, happy ones will help."

Beth turns back to the stable and opens the other two stall doors and starts handing over carrots and apples. Josef leans against the wall and watches her. He can tell she's got something else on her mind but she needs a few minutes to get it out. "I cheated at poker to get that motorcycle away from him."

Beth is taken aback. "You never cheat. You always say it takes all the fun out of winning."

"In those days, that Harley was just one wrong moment away from Mick ending up dead. Despite our healing, you can go out in a blaze of glory if you hit a big enough wall. Brian and I stacked the deck. Mick was so reckless it wasn't too much of a stretch to see him betting the bike if he had a good hand. This time we made sure he had a good hand, it just wasn't good enough. To assuage my conscience over it, I sold him the Mercedes at a rock bottom price. I had Jack restored the Harley then it went in to storage for the day I could give it back to him."

With tears in her eyes Beth goes to him and hugs him tight. "I love you so much. I'm so glad we have each other."

Josef kisses the top of her head. "Me too." He hands her a handkerchief to wipe the tears away.

"I want to celebrate Christmas this year." She blurts out.

Josef nods. "It's fine with me and with luck after tonight, holidays won't be so hard for Mick. We can go to New York and celebrate the solstice with Vanessa and Frank."

"No, I want a tree." Beth says.

Josef snorts. "Vanessa always has a tree. Where do you think the Christians got the whole tree thing?" Josef looks at her curiously wondering if he missed something about her. "You've never seemed religious to me."

Beth shakes her head. "I'm not, but to a lot of people it's about more than just the religious aspects. It's about being with people you care about, spending time with family and friends. The whole peace on earth thing is a nice thought that doesn't have to 'belong' to any group. It looks like we'll have peace this year and I want to celebrate Christmas. Our going to New York defeats the whole purpose. If we go to New York it will just be the three of us, Vanessa and Frank. I want to celebrate with my dad, Angie, my brothers, Robert, Emily, Kaida and Tucker, all our family and friends." She laughs with delight. "With any luck my baby brothers will be here by then. Angie isn't due until after Christmas but you never know..." She breaks up a carrot and continues to feed the horses. "We could invite Vanessa and Frank here. Do you think they'd come?"

Josef nods slowly. "I'm sure they would love to come. Christmas is over a month away. I could order a tree for the great room and a few more for the ballroom. I'm sure I can get someone to erect them. For the pagans amongst us we could have a tree decorating party on the twenty first, that's the solstice this year. We could invite close family and friends."

Beth hides her smirk at his casual remark about the solstice. Josef doesn't know, she knows it's his birthday.

"We could have an adult party Christmas Eve, then the afternoon of Christmas day we could have a family party." Josef says. "I'm sure the pack would love to come over and bring all their little sticky faced beasty children." He grins at her. "You could get the twins all sorts of things to spoil them rotten and drive your father crazy."

"I love you, you know that?" she moves into his arms and hugs him tight.

Josef nods. "Yes, and I love you." Josef glances down at his watch. "Mick is probably pacing a rut in the driveway waiting for you. I'm sure he's impatient to try out the Harley and Beth, please be careful. Mick's right. It will still hurt."

She kisses him. "I will. I promise."

**xxxxxxxxxxxx**

**Comments are always welcome and appreciated. **


	3. Chapter 3

**Moonlight isn't mine and I have no claim on it or any wish to make a buck off it. These days it's just a place I go to play.**

**This is an ongoing series. It started in 2008 with Rescued…Werewolf is the seventh installment**. **The installments need to be read in order otherwise it will make no sense. **

**A/N: not sure how well this is going to download. I'm in the wilds of rural America and the connection is appalling.**

**A/N: Just a bit of warning. This one is M for a reason. **

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Mick smiles and hands Beth a leather jacket. "Put it on."

She holds the jacket away from her and looks it over squinting. "It's a little big."

"It's the last one I bought before I stopped riding." He holds up another jacket in his other hand. "I'll wear my old one. Turn around and I'll help you. It's bound to be big but it's better than nothing."

She knows he's right so she shrugs her way into the jacket. "I look twelve years old." She says as she holds up her arm. "My hands don't even come out the end of the sleeves."

"It's okay, you can scrunch the sleeves up enough to hold on to me." He says as he hands her the helmet. He follows suit and puts on the other jacket and helmet.

She straps the helmet on and watches as he starts the Harley. Mick gets comfortable and then motions for Beth to get on behind him. For a moment she wiggles around behind him. Mick reaches back and takes her hands, pulling them forward so she wraps her arms around his waist. He smiles as he feels her body pressing against his.

_You won__'t have trouble driving like this? _She asks

_No. And aren__'t you more comfortable? _

_Yes, but I don__'t want to be in the way._

He hears the worry in her voice. _Don't worry_. _You're not in the way._

_I don__'t want to be a distraction. _

He laughs in her mind. _You are always a distraction._

Beth lets out a yelp and holds tight as he takes off down the driveway and out on to the road.

An hour and several miles later, Mick brings the Harley to a stop. Beth hops off and wobbles a little. Mick takes her elbow to help steady her. "Are you alright?" She nods.

It isn't that she doesn't trust Mick; she knows he wouldn't do anything to risk her safety, but riding on the motorcycle hasn't really turned out like she thought it would. Everything is right there in your face, everything from the elements, to the cars, to the asphalt. At one point she'd made the mistake of looking down and she'd seen the white stripes, a blur beneath them. She hopes by the time her birthday rolls around she feels better about learning to operate a motorcycle but somewhere in the back of her mind she doubts it.

Mick watches her reaction. She's trying hard to hide it but he can tell this was not enjoyable for her and he realizes it's his fault. They'd always enjoyed so many of the same things he'd just taken it for granted that she would like the big machine as much as he does. It could be she'd have the same reaction no matter what, but he hadn't made things any easy for her.

He's seen this reaction to motorcycles before in other people. Some people just can't get into the experience. He knows it's not fear in the traditional sense; some of the most fearless people he's known just can't handle a motorcycle. He thinks it's the motion and lightness that comes with flying through the night. He helps her take off her helmet and then removes his own. Without getting off the bike he pulls her in close "Come here." He says feeling like a heel for not paying closer attention to her.

Beth moves into his arms and he holds her tight. He knows that this will steady her. After a few minutes Beth looks at him sheepishly. "I can't decide….."

He nods understanding. "Look, it's my fault. I should have taken your first ride easier, taken breaks."

She shakes her head. "Maybe, but I don't think so. Right from the beginning I was out of my element," she pauses. "Out of control."

He looks at her a little chagrined. "What if you were the one driving, if you learned how to do it on your own?"

"It's also the motion, the exposure, that can't be controlled. Someday maybe, but I don't think I want to learn right now. Don't tell Josef. He's right, I should learn. I don't want him to be disappointed that I'm freaked out about this." She looks away.

Mick puts a finger under her chin so she has to look up at him. "This is your first ride, we can try it again?" He asks. He hates that he may have put her off motorcycles forever. Beth nod and he can see her embarrassment and wish to change the subject as she steps away from him.

She looks around, on both sides of the gravel road. She can't see anything but forest. She tries to penetrate the darkness and see what lurks there, but even with her vampire sight, she can't see too far into the forest. "Where are we?"

"We're on the backside of the mansion's property." He says

"We are?" Beth asks. "I've never been back here."

"This is an access road for the three properties that back up against each other. It's on Josef's property and he pays to have it maintained."

Beth looks at the gravel below her feet. "It's not paved."

"No, we don't get enough rain that it needs to be paved. In the spring Josef will have a company come in and makes sure none of the trees have fallen in a wind storm. Then they will lay down a new load of gravel."

"Why is it so wide? How far back does it go?" she says peering into the night.

"It's wide enough to put two of L.A. County's biggest fire trucks side by side and it goes into the property a couple of miles. At that point the property line weaves back and the woods thin out. The fire department can get to the wooded area from the mansion's side."

"So it's just here in case of fire?" Beth asks

"Yes," he grins "but it's not a bad place to park with a beautiful woman." She laughs and he's glad to see her good humor returning. "You're right. It's here in case of fire" Fire is not a vampire's friend. "There have been too many wild fires in this area not to take precautions."

"How did you know it was here?" Beth asks indignantly.

"You mean, why have I been back here and you haven't?" he asks teasingly.

"Yes, I guess I do."

"Because after what happened at in the old house, I made sure when we moved here, that I got to know all the places anyone could access the property. I walked the entire estate, and I made several of the security guys go with me."

Beth smiles at him triumphantly. "Imagine how much easier it would have been if you'd known how to ride a horse."

He looks at her thoughtfully. "Not a bad idea."

She watches as Mick swings one leg over the bike. He sits on it sideways, his long booted legs stretched out in front of him and crossed at the ankles.

"Hey you put on the boots we got you." She says with a smile.

"I had to try them out." He says, glad that she noticed. "They fit like you had them made for me."

"We did. I swiped an old pair of your boots from the back of your closet and sent them along to the man in Italy so they could take measurements."

He looks at her dumbfounded. He's never known anyone who would go to such lengths for him.

"You love this bi...Harley." she says.

He nods. "Did Josef tell you he cheated at cards to get it from me?"

She laughs. "You knew?"

"Yea, and we both know that Josef never cheats, so I understood what he was trying to do. I figured he might have a better perspective than I did, so I went a long with it." He watches her as she scrapes the ground with the toe of her shoe. She glances up at him and he knows she's worried about whatever is coming next. "Come on Beth, what is it?"

"When I was feeding the horses their treats, I talked to Josef about celebrating Christmas. I was wondering what you thought about the idea."

He realizes that with the addition of her father and his family, why holidays are so important to her, and why she's nervous about asking him about it. "It's fine." He puts his finger under her chin and turns her head. "We went over this. You and Josef are my family." He grins again. "Do you want to invite anyone in particular?"

Excitedly she explains the plan she and Josef discussed. "What do you think?"

"It's a great idea." He says

Beth laughs. "This is going to be a wonderful Christmas."

"Yes, it will." Mick uncrosses his legs and pulls Beth in close so she's standing between them. "I want you."

She watches him in appreciation. "You look so bad boy sitting here on this Harley."

"I am a bad boy. It's why you find me so hot." he says with a grin.

Beth snickers. "More like a boy scout."

"I could be a bad boy for you." he says.

"Not a real bad ass, well unless you were defending me." She knows from firsthand experience the lengths he'll go to protect her. "Besides, I find you incredibly sexy just the way you are."

He looks off into the past for a moment. "There was a time..."

She knows where he's going with that memory. She puts a finger to his lips. "Sshhh. I'm sure there was, but that was Coraline's creation not the real Mick St. John." She assures him. She stands in front of him playing with the button of his shirt. "You, Mick. St. John," she looks up into his eyes. "The man I fell so much in love with, are one of the good guys."

He snorts. "How come I always have to be the good guy?"

"Mick, you can be anyone you want to be. I'll always love you."

"I know." He leans in and kisses her. "I still want you."

"You do? How?" she asks as she nips at his jaw.

"How..." he trails off as his mind flashes images of Beth under him, over him, in front of him.

She watches his face and gets an idea. She pulls away. "Would you like one more birthday present?"

Mick recognizes the desire that plays across her face. "This is the one I've been waiting for all day." He says huskily.

A shiver runs up her spine as she hears the desire in his voice. "Turn around for me. I want to surprise you."

Mick nods and turns his back to her, wondering what she's got planned. He grins as he hears the momentary rustle of clothing and then nothing more. When the quiet gets the better of him he calls to her. _Beth?_

She laughs in his mind. _Come find me if you can._

He whirls around seeing that she's disappeared into the night, the only thing left is a pile if her clothing on the ground. His fangs drop, as he scents the air. He closes his eyes for a moment to 'see' which direction she went. He doesn't have to look very hard to pick up her trail. The scent of her is calling him.

Silently he moves through the woods. From the outside the forest looked so dark. Now that he's inside he realizes there's a great deal of moonlight leaking through the canopy. It's going to be easier for him to find her than he thought. He grins through his fangs. _Come out, come out, where ever you are. _He calls to her. Again, all he gets is the tinkle of her laughter in his mind.

Mick scents the breeze and silently follows her. He moves slowly for the moment, wanting to make this last. When he realizes she's moving in circles. He wonders if she's lost or if staying on the game trails to save her feet is forcing her into this route. He stops when he looks up and there she is, wearing only her bra and panties. She's standing in a shaft of moonlight. Her body is almost glowing. He smiles. "Mine."

Beth turns and runs, laughing with delight.

Mick growls softly and runs after her. She's got a lead but not much of one. He should be able to catch her without difficulty. When he rounds the large boulder she ducked behind, he stops in confusion. She's disappeared. Looking out over a large grassy meadow she's nowhere to be seen. He can scent her though, he knows she's close. The realization hits him, when she was walking in circles she was doing two things. She was scouting the area and she was laying down overlapping scent trails, so it would be harder for him to find her. _Good girl._

The night air is full of her natural scent, and he can't quite put his finger on where she's hiding. He decides to do it the old fashion way. Crouching down in the long grass he looks for her tracks. He touches the bare foot print and gets a vision of her standing behind a tree. He scans the area and looks for any little thing that's out of place, and then sees a bit of blond hair floating out from behind a tree.

The crisp night air, the smell of the woods, the sexual tension, it's all making Beth a little giddy. She almost laughs out loud at how much fun she's having. Hoping for cover from the surrounding bushes she bends low and begins to run through the woods again.

Mick sees the blond hair vanish and he knows she's on the run. He stands and the chase begins again, both of them darting in and around the trees. All he can think about is the sensation of touching her and how good her blood is going to taste once he catches her. No more letting her set the pace. He's ready to have her now.

Beth can hear him. He's not wasting any time, not even trying to be quiet. She laughs as she runs.

Mick is gaining on her, in moments he will have her in his grasp. He lunges and tackles her, rolling their bodies in the air so she lands on top of him and he takes the brunt of the fall.

"Oomph." Mick says as the landing knocks the air from his lungs but it doesn't give him pause. He smiles broadly, his fangs dropping, his eyes turning the soft blue crystalline she's seen a million times. Beth smiles back and turns her head, exposing her neck for him. His hand snakes into her hair holding her head at the precise angle he requires for the most exposure, their body's pressed together. "Mine." Is the only sound from him before his fangs strike her skin, his mouth latching onto the column of her neck. Beth moans at the heady aroma of her blood. He's not the only one whose vampire loved the chase. Her hands snake between them. Beth feels the edges of his shirt and pulls. Mick rolls his body instinctively knowing what she needs. She pulls the edge of his shirt exposing his shoulder and sinks her fangs into his flesh. Beth shudders as Mick's blood flows into her mouth. As much as the two of them what each other's bodies their vampires must be satisfied first.

Beth moans as they both slake their thirst. Mick pulls away first. He gives her another moment and then kisses her temple. Beth has perfect control of her vampiric nature but this is a special circumstance. He's not sure she won't be able to rein her emotions in without a bit of help. His hands trace down her sides and across her back. He unclasps her bra. He sighs as the garment slips away. His hands tracing their way back to caress her breasts.

She gasps with pleasure and releases his shoulder. She licks the wound of the last of the blood quieting her vampire. "I didn't want to stop."

She opens up her neck to him again. "More?"

"Not yet." he says with a low growl. "I want something to go with it."

"And what would that be?" she asks, her voice husky.

"I want the rest of you." He pulls her up and kisses her deeply and the mingled flavor of blood on both their tongues fuels their desire. Suddenly he's gone. Beth opens her eyes and watches him as he strips his shirt the rest of the way off his body.

She sighs at the sight of his body, so hard, so taunt as he moves to get rid of the rest of his clothing. Next she watches as he pulls off the boots and drops them. She growls at her own anticipation as his pants and boxers hit the ground and he steps out of them.

Beth moves to remove what's left of her underwear and he grasps her hand stopping her. "Let me." He says, his eyes shining in the moonlight.

She nods and watches him as his fingers elongate into talons. A thrill goes through her when he reaches down and tugs on her panties with a talon, and the material cuts as though he'd used a knife. She watches as his hand returns to its human form. "Much better." he says

He takes her hand and he lays her on the grass. She smells the rich mixture of the earth below her and Mick above her. She pulls the scents in and it engulfs her, the scent of his desire is more powerful than anything else.

Beth reaches for him but he shakes his head. "You were a bad girl running from away." he takes both her wrists in one hand and pulls her arms above her head.

Beth struggles, trying to get her hands free so she can touch him. She watches Mick. He can't tear his eyes away from her breasts as they move with the rest of her body. She watches as his mouth descends on her breasts. At that moment she loses whatever upper hand she thought she had. The feel of his mouth on her nipple, his fangs trailing in the wake of his tongue makes her cry out and arch her back. Her body begs for more. "That's it." he croons and he begins again. He starts with her breasts, after a moment he begins lavishing the rest of her body with his mouth.

Beth continues to whither both in the ecstasy of what is mouth is doing to her body and in an overwhelming need to touch him, to feel his body under her hands.

Mick lets go of her wrists as he makes his way lower and lower down her body. Beth gasps and bucks as she feels his fingers moving their way inside to her core.

"Please." she begs. "I want you inside me."

"I am." he moves his fingers in motions that send her over the edge as her first orgasm hits her.

Mick lays on his side his arm propping up his head as he watches her begin to come down from the high of her orgasm. He reaches over and begins to play with her nipple with one hand and his intent is to grab her wrists again with the other. He likes having her restrained after their run through the woods.

"Not this time," she growls. Beth moves fast enough that he's not expecting it and Mick finds her sitting astride him. Her eyes are glowing as her vampire rises to the surface. They both know that he could unseat her but having her hot center pressed to his hardness is giving him such pleasure that he's not too inclined to move her. Besides he knows all she wants is a chance to give them both pleasure. Who is he to object? He moves his head to the side and smiles as her eyes track the vein in his neck. She tries to stop herself but the lure of his blood is too much. She leans down, her breasts pushing into his chest as her fangs slide into his neck.

Beth feels his blood flow into her mouth. She feels Mick lifting her bottom and she moans as he shifts his hips and slides into her channel. The feel of having his blood in her mouth and their joining sends her into a frenzy. She pulls her fangs out of his neck, and braces herself above him pumping her hips to meets his upward thrusts. He flips her over and neither of them misses a beat as he sinks his fangs into her breast. Beth arches to meet his mouth and his pumping hips. He hears her scream his name and he can't hold back anymore. He spills inside her as the feelings of soft hot muscles spasm around him. Once they've both found sanity again, he rolls them to the side, not wanting to lose the feel of her body next to his. "Best birthday ever."

"I'm glad." She says nuzzling close to him.

A short time later he gently swats her bottom. "Come on, we've got a walk ahead of us."

She groans as his body moves away from hers. "That's ridiculous. I can manage to ride on the Harley far enough to get us home."

"You sure?" he asks as he pulls on his pants.

"Of course. I'm not terrified of it. I think I could get use to riding behind you. I just don't want to be the one in front. There's a difference."

He nods. "Alright." He grins at her.

She sees the silly smile on his face "What?"

He shrugs. "I like having you tight behind me on the Harley."

She giggles. "Yea, that part is secondary to riding the motorcycle for me."

He looks around for his shirt. Finding it, he pulls it on. He doesn't bother to button it as few of them seem to be left on his shirt. Quickly he finishes with his pants, socks and boots.

He looks at Beth and smiles as she stands in front of him, a piece of her shredded underwear hanging from each hand. He could say he was sorry for shredding her underwear, but they'd both know he was lying. "I'll go back to where you left the rest of your clothes and bring them to you. And you better bring those with you." He says nodding to her underwear. "We don't want a work crew to find them. They might think the worst and call the cops."

She grins at him. "No, we wouldn't want that. We might as well just walk back together. No use making a second trip."

He nods and she looks at him as he moves quickly towards her. Before she can react she finds herself being carried in his arms.

"I did just run through these woods mostly naked." She says

"I know but that was for fun. I'll carry you back so you don't hurt your feet." He says loving the sensation of her naked body in his arms.

Beth laughs softly and snuggles into his arms.

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

** Comments are always welcome and encouraged. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Moonlight isn't mine and I have no claim on it or any desire to make a buck off it. These days it's just a place I go to play…**

**This is an ongoing series. It started in 2008 with Rescued. This is the seventh installment**. **The installments need to be read in order otherwise it will make no sense. **

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Lance stalks into the great room snarling like an angry tiger. "I'll kill him. I don't care if he is our fucking brother I'll kill him. He's gone too far this time."

"I presume you're talking about Mason? What did he do now?" Chandler says.

"The bastard is gone and so is Jelena."

"When did you see Jelena last?" Chandler asks

"I saw her last night. It was an hour or two before you stopped me from ripping out Mason's throat. After that, I was so mad; I stayed away from her until I could cool off. When I went to see her tonight I couldn't find her. I questioned the guards and they said she left for a run late last night. Mason left a couple hours after she did and nobodies seen either of them since."

Chandler tilts his head. "Interesting."

Lance picks up a lamp from the table and throws it against the wall. It shatters but he gets no satisfaction from the destruction. "and what are that Mason was in here goading me into a fight and now both he and Jelena are gone?" Lance reaches for a decanter full of Chandler's favorite Irish whiskey but Chandler snatches it out of his reach. "Not the Irish. It's three hundred years old." He growls and shoves an empty decanter into Lance's hand. Lance looks down at the decanter for a moment and snorts. He sets it down heavily on the sideboard.

Chandler clutches his decanter. "Lance you're screwing this up." Chandler knows this conversation could mess up his plans but he has to make Lance aware of a few truths. "You need to find Jelena and get her to trust you, to reconnect with her. You need to go after them."

Stalking the room once again, looking for a target for his anger he snarls at Chandler. "They could be anywhere by now."

"Not anywhere, I'm sure they've gone to America. Mason will take the long route to confuse things so you may even get there before them. Besides, he's not stupid, he'll be using new aliases and trying to track him that way will be futile." Chandler offers.

Lance is suspicious. "Why would he take her to the states? You sound certain that's where he would go." He narrows his eyes at Chandler. "What do you know that I don't?"

Chandler waves a hand in the air. "Nothing, I'm just looking at this rationally. Where else is there a chance he might find someone who would be willing to help her?"

Offered a trail that might lead to finding Jelena, Lance's temper begins to cool. "There is always Christophe in Canada. He has been trying to get Mason to break with the family for years." Lance says.

Chandler shakes his head. "No, Christophe will not risk Anna, not even for Mason. There is only one place for them to go and that is to the states to see Kostan. You need to follow."

Lance throws up his hands. "And do what? If she's left without telling me, she's not coming back on her own, and despite everything I don't want to chain her to the wall."

Chandler laughs. "You are such a hypocrite. You don't want to imprison her to keep her here, but you'd turn her so she is dependent on you for years to come."

"It's not the same thing." Lance snarls. "Once she's a vampire she'll see things different."

Chandler is quiet for a moment trying to phrase what has to be said to get through to Lance. "Do you remember what Jelena told you about the wolf that Josef turned? Do you remember what happened to her?"

Lance stares wordlessly at Chandler not wanting to listen to what his brother is going to say.

"Do I need to remind you that she committed suicide? She swallowed silver. If you turn Jelena without her agreement you may end up with the same result." Chandler continues he knows what he's telling Lance is not going to be well received but the truth is the trauma of turning an unwilling wolf could very well result in her death. Chandler doesn't care for Jelena's well being, as far as he's concerned any wolf turned will work, but Jelena is at hand and having her end up dead doesn't do him any good. He needs Lance and Jelena happily united once again, he needs her to be willing to be turned if he is to use her as an example of what can be done to the wolves who don't do what he wants. He tries another track. "If you can catch up to her away from here you have a chance of making her see how much you care for her." Chandler waves at their surroundings. "You and I, Mason, all of us have lived here for a very long time. This is the family's territory. Neutral ground will make Jelena see your relationship in a better light."

Lance changes the subject not wanting to face the fact that Chandler might be right, that Jelena would rather be dead then be a vampire. "Have you found anyone to help me turn her?"

Now it's Chandler's turn to be angry. "No, fewer of our people have the talent than I thought, and fewer still admit it." He never expected it to be this difficult. "I'm still looking, but I'm exploring other options. There might be alphas that are strong enough to do what is required. They have some of the same talent to cow lesser wolves."

Lance nods. "I didn't think of that."

"I don't know how successful I'm going to be. In the last few weeks the wolves seem to be becoming scarce. My sources say some of them are relocating to other countries, where turning a wolf without consent is a death sentence."

"That's Josef's doing, he and Vanessa's. I'm sure of it. They both have a long history of protecting the wolves." Lance says

"If finding the right person becomes impossible maybe there is a way to force Josef to help turn Jelena." Chandler musses.

Lance shakes his head. "Not without getting killed. The only thing that would box Josef in and force him to do what I need is to take Beth. If I take her then you involve her grandsire. Even if I could handle Josef and St. John, and I'm not sure that's true, I would never go against Vanessa. There has to be someone else."

"Is there someone close to Josef's woman? From the sounds of your last discussion with Josef she seems to be his weakness. If there is someone she is close to that they wouldn't go to war over..."

Lance remembers the confrontation with Katrina and the alpha that intervened between Beth and Katrina. _An alpha that cowed Katrina_. He smiles coldly as he remembers that the alpha is Beth's father. "It would be better if you could find someone here at home." Lance says.

Chandler nods. "From your descriptions of the cohesion of the vampires in Vanessa's territory, I agree. The farther away we are from her interference the better. This isn't something you can farm out to the hired help." Chandler has never met Vanessa but everyone knows of her power. Some believe the stories about her, about the things she's done are exaggeration or worse urban legend. Chandler has made enough discreet inquiries to people he trusts and whatever her true power is he does not want to make her mad enough to come looking for him. It's always best to work through a proxy like Lance if you're going to run the risk of pissing off one of the old ones. He continues. "Go to America, watch Josef's people, and see if you can come up with any ideas on how we might force Kostan's hand. If I can't find someone to help turn Jelena then you'll be in a position to force Josef to do what we need done. But I'm telling you none of that matters if you don't get Jelena to agree."

Lance grunts his agreement, but Chandler sees Lance is still trying to convince himself that Chandler is wrong about Jelena killing herself. "I'll take Jean-Paul with me." Lance says

"He's worthless." Chandler says dismissively.

"And it's time that changed. With Mason's defection it's time Jean-Claude steps up and becomes useful to the family." Lance says.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Josef enters Mick's office and shuts the door behind him.

Mick looks up and knows from Josef's demeanor something is bothering him. "Is Beth with you?"

"No, when I left home she was working on her story." Josef says

Mick can see whatever is going on in Josef's head, he's mad as hell and not bothering to hide it. Mick throws his pen on the desk and stands up. He walks around the desk and sits on the edge crossing his arms. "What's the matter?"

Josef begins to pace. He stops and faces Mick. "I understand the idea of teaching Beth to ride a motorcycle was a spur of the moment inspiration."

"Josef," Mick says. He wants to tell Josef about Beth's reaction to the motorcycle ride, but Josef's anger is so hot that he doesn't give Mick a chance.

Josef moves in close to Mick and bares his fangs. "You damn well better keep her safe, because if not, you'll wish to hell you'd kept your mouth shut."

Mick stays very still. He doesn't think Josef would hurt him, if for no other reason than he'd have to explain it to Beth. Mick senses that Josef is furious and there is no use taking any chances. Josef's right, it was a spur of the moment idea, but he had no reason to think Josef would react quite so angrily, not that it matters now. Mick own anger is building when he realizes that Josef kept quiet about his objections in Beth's presence. "You should have said something at the time if you hated the idea this much."

"And say what? Just what the hell was I supposed to say after your big announcement? Oh, Beth this is a bad idea, that you might get hurt?" Josef looks at him, fury in his eyes. "Yea, right. All that would have done is made her more determined. If she gets hurt I'm going to hold you responsible."

"The odds of her getting killed on a motorcycle are pretty slim." Mick says quietly.

"Not slim enough. I have no intention of watching her go through the pain of growing muscle and skin because she's skipped across asphalt on her nose." He pokes at Mick's. "I have no intention of watching her in pain as broken bones knit. You just fucking remember that, and keep her safe." Josef turns on his heel and heads towards the door. He's almost through it when Mick knows he has to stop him. He can't leave like this with the problem unresolved. "Josef, stop. Maybe you're right. Maybe I shouldn't have popped off" Mick doesn't know why he's continuing with this but he does think he and Josef need to get some stuff clear where Beth is concerned.

Josef turns back from the open door. "You remember when I wrecked my car half way between here and Vegas?"

Mick snorts. "How could I forget? I was sure we'd be picking up pieces of you for weeks."

"You remember how pissed Beth was at me? How furious she was that I would take that kind of chance with my life?"

Mick nods and waits for Josef to continue.

"I don't want to see her unconscious in a freezer with an I.V. of blood hooked into her for a week like I was." Josef runs his hand through his hair. "This isn't the same thing but it feels like it. You know how she gets when she's mad."

Mick hides a smile knowing that Beth is awful lot like Josef and Josef is smart enough to realize it. Mick thinks there still must be more to the fury Josef is throwing off.

"We were lucky; when she took the Ferrari that she didn't wrap it around a tree." Josef says in exasperation.

Mick nods and takes a minute to say what needs to be said. "Josef, maybe this wasn't the best thing to bring up to her, but I'm not going to stop and ask myself if you'd approve every time I have an idea." Mick hears the low growl but continues on. "You have to let her grow." Mick says. "Besides, she's not going to be ready to learn to ride a motorcycle for quite some time."

"Why?" Josef ask brought up short.

"It turns out she's not comfortable with the Harley." Mick holds up his hand. "That's not to say she won't get use to it and sooner or later decide she wants to learn. She thinks she can get use to being a passenger but learning to be the driver doesn't interest her. Right now she's more afraid of disappointing you than wanting to ride."

Josef looks confused. "Why would she disappoint me? Why would she think that?"

"Because you're the one that said we should have skills." Mick answers

"Yes, but you're damn near a hundred years old. You'll heal faster and the horse isn't likely to run into a brick wall or an oncoming car. I might not be so worried about her learning, if it wouldn't take a jump start from my blood to keep her from being true dead." He shakes his head. "I can see she and I need to talk. I don't want her thinking I'm disappointed."

"You also don't want her finding out that you and I had words about this and it's left unresolved. Josef, listen to me. Offering to teach her to ride a motorcycle was not a bad idea. I would have made sure she was safe."

Josef paces the room for a minute. He doesn't know what to say. He knows Mick's right. He also knows that in some measure Beth is his, not that he thinks she loves him more than she loves Mick, but Josef is her sire and that one fact binds her to him, and that bond is a two edged sword. He's not sure how far he can afford to let Mick push, but for now he just wants to put a stop to the idea of her learning to ride a motorcycle on her own. "I'm not saying you're right but I'll think about it." He shakes his head. "That's all I can do."

"You don't own her." Mick bites out.

Josef narrows his eyes at Mick. "No," Josef starts, but before he can continue there's a knock at the open door.

Josef turns to the sound, already knowing its Kaida.

Mick waves her in.

Kaida walks in and feels the tension in the room. She looks between the two men. "Is this about Beth and the motorcycle?" Kaida asks. She knows it is, she heard them clear down the hallway.

"How do you know about that?" Mick asks. He narrows his eyes. "How did you get to this floor? The elevator is locked unless someone calls ahead."

Kaida shakes her head and holds up her hand and grins. "Spy, assassin, remember? How good would I be if I couldn't get passed a locked elevator?" she smirks at him. "I didn't think you'd mind and I left the elevator lock intact. As for the other, you guys are loud when you argue. Besides, I heard Beth talking to Emily." Kaida turns to Josef. "You need to do something about that. She's really upset."

"So I've heard." Josef snaps.

Mick shakes his head. "She asked me not to tell you about this. I wouldn't have said anything, but under the circumstances I didn't have much choice."

Kaida shakes her head and looks at Josef. "Tell her the truth. Tell I overheard her and Emily and told you to get your butt home and talk about it with her."

"No, tell her the whole truth." Mick says. "Tell her you were worried and I told you she isn't interested in learning." Mick says. "We agreed to tell her the truth so she wouldn't keep things from us that could get her killed." He snorts at Josef. "It's up to you to tell her just how worried you are."

Josef nods knowing Mick is right.

"You two always fight when you disagree like this about Beth?" Kaida asks.

"No." Josef says smiling ruefully at Mick. "We fight little where Beth or anything else is concerned."

"I didn't think so or this thing the three of you have wouldn't work." She points her finger at Josef. "Are you going to tell him about Rome or do I have to?"

"You will even if I tell you not to, so you do it. I'm going home and talk to Beth." Josef says as he leaves.

Mick sighs and picks up the phone. "I'm going to have to call Beth and tell her I'll be late for our riding lesson."

"Don't do it on account of me. I can talk to you another time." Kaida tells him

He shakes his head as he picks up his phone. "She and Josef are going to need time to work this out." He smiles at her. "And in the mean time you can tell me what brought you to my door."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Josef steers the sleek Ferrari though the night and mulls over his conversation with Mick. He knows Mick has no idea how much danger Beth is to both of them. Josef thinks about the few women in his life that he cared for and lost. He didn't love Anya, but he did care for her, and losing her left him more vulnerable than he's ever been before or since. Sarah left him bereft but the bond between sire and fledgling was never completed. In truth as much as he loved Sarah, as much as he tried to find a way to save her, in the end she wasn't part of him.

Beth isn't a fledgling but she is new enough that their bond, braced by their love, is very tight. For the first time he admits to himself that losing Beth could get himself and a lot of the people who depend on him killed. None of them, can afford for him to be that vulnerable again. He wishes he could be more like some of his contemporaries, more cold-blooded about those he turns but it's never been his way. He pushes his dark thoughts away. He knows if he lets his fear fester it will poison everything around him.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Beth glances at Emily and then back to the phone in her hand.

"It's not going to dial it's self." Emily smirks at her.

"What if" Until now Beth hadn't thought beyond plans for Christmas parties to the invitations. "What if they already have plans?"

Emily shrugs. "You won't know unless you ask and the longer you wait the more likely they are to make other plans." Emily nods to the phone. "Beth, call your dad. Do it right now otherwise you'll work yourself into some kind of weird snit and Josef will find you on your closet floor chopping up your clothes."

Beth scowls at her. "Hey, I didn't tell you that so you could use it against me. You're supposed to be my friend."

"I am your friend. I'm saying this so you'll remember how freaked out you were last time, and how great it all turned out in the end." Emily knows this isn't about Beth worrying that Daniel will already have plans. This is Beth worrying about being rejected by her father.

Beth sighs. "Sometimes I hate you."

"No you don't." Emily says with a smile. She can see what Beth needs is a pep talk. "Beth, if they've made plans for Christmas day there is no reason that you can't celebrate Christmas with them a couple days before or after. I'm sure something can be worked out. Stop worrying. They like you. I'm sure they'll want to spend some time with you over the holidays."

"I know you're right, it's just scary." Beth swipes her finger across the phone.

"Hello?" The caller I.D. tells Daniel that it's Beth but he doesn't hear anything and it starts to alarm him. "Beth? Are you ok? Are you hurt?"

Beth hears the panic starting to rise in Daniel's voice and wants to bang her head on the coffee table. "No, I'm here. I'm fine. I…." She trails off and Emily scowls at her.

"You what?" Daniel asks confused.

"Um, we're having a Christmas tree decorating party on the twenty first. I was wondering if you and Angie and the boys would like to come to that. It will be family and close friends. It should be fun." She doesn't give him a chance to answer she just plunges on, afraid he'll say no before she can get it all out. "We're also going to have a party for the adults on Christmas Eve and then a big party for everyone Christmas day. The whole pack is invited. We'd love it if you can make any of that."

Daniel hears the fear in her voice and wants to shoot himself. The only thing that will help make this right is time. Someday he hopes Beth will come to realize that he loves her and he won't abandon her again, that he and Angie and the kids want her to be part of their family. "Beth, we'll try for the decorating party and the Christmas day party. But you know Angie is getting close to her due date. She's not up to excitement so we'll pass up the Christmas Eve party, besides I need you to do something for me."

"Anything." She says instantly

"Angie and I were just talking about this over breakfast and we'd like you to come over Christmas Eve. We let the kids open one present and we have cocoa and pastries. You can slip away early in the evening to spend some time with us?"

Emily shakes her head as she watches the tears running down Beth's cheeks. "I'd love that." Beth says.

Emily glances up as she senses movement behind Beth.

**Xxxxxxxxxx**

**This got cut off here because otherwise it was just too long….**

**Comments are always appreciated and in fact encouraged. **


	5. Chapter 5

**Moonlight isn't mine and I have no claim on it or any want to make a buck off it. These days it's just a place I go to play…**

**This is an ongoing series. It started in 2008 with Rescued. This is the seventh installment**. **The installments need to be read in order otherwise it will make no sense. **

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

_(last time) Emily glances up as she senses movement behind Beth. _

For a moment Josef sees a flash of fear in Emily's eyes but it's gone as quick as it appears. He sighs inwardly, wondering what that's about. He doesn't have time to question her at the moment, but he makes a mental note to speak to her soon. In the years Emily has been with him she has never shown an ounce of fear, in fact just the opposite. Whatever is bothering her, it can't be good. As well as worrying over Emily he's been listening to Beth's phone call and he'd like to shoot Daniel. He hates the emotional turmoil that is rolling off Beth. Emily shakes her head as she sees his fists opening and closing with anger. He knows she's right. Beth needs comfort not someone threatening to kill her father.

"Thank you daddy." She says as she hangs up the phone.

Daniel smiles at Angie who walks into the room. He explains about Christmas.

Angie nods. "That will work out very nicely, but that is not why you're grinning like a fool."

He nods. "She called me daddy."

Angie smiles and hugs him. "I told you it would be all right."

He thinks about Beth's emotions, so strong he can even feel them through the phone and shakes his head. "There's still work to be done before she trusts me but we're getting there."

So intent on her conversation with Daniel, Beth is only now realizing Josef is in the room. She swipes at the tears and glances at Emily. "I told you something could be worked out." Emily says. "I'll let you tell Josef about your phone call."

Beth nods and looks at Josef as he moves into her line of sight.

They both watch Emily leave. Josef wonders again at Emily's haste to be gone and the rising beat of her heart that shows fear, fear of him? Once again he makes a note to himself to get to the bottom of it.

Josef sits next to Beth and smiles. "Tell me."

Beth looks at him shamefaced for a moment and then looks down.

"Beth, tell me about Daniel."

"They're coming for the tree decorating party and the get together on Christmas day. He asked me to come spend time with them on Christmas Eve. Our party's never get into full swing until midnight so I can see them and be back in plenty of time." She tells him, still looking at the floor.

Josef scowls. "Why don't you sound happier?"

"I am happy." She trails off for a moment. "I'm just scared that…."

Josef sits down and nudges her. "Come here I want to tell you something."

Beth looks over her shoulder at him and sits back snuggling into his arms. "What?"

He puts his chin on top of her head and hugs her tight, hoping he can make this better for her. "Since it didn't come to pass, I don't think anyone ever told you about Daniel taking Angie and the kids and leaving the pack."

Beth leans back and looks at him. "Why would they do that? Why would they give that up?"

Josef smiles tenderly. "For you. They were going to leave the pack for you."

"Me?" she asks.

"When they were trying to decide how to tell the pack about you, Daniel and Angie decided that if the pack couldn't reconcile Daniel's having a vampire for a daughter, they would leave the pack, rather than Daniel being forced to leave you again."

Beth puts her hand to her mouth, speechless.

"So you see," Josef continues. "That short of something catastrophic, Daniel isn't going anywhere and you can trust that he loves you and he'll be around for the long haul." And if he isn't, Josef thinks. I'll hut the bastard and gut him.

Beth wraps her arms around his neck and hugs him tight. Josef smiles as he rubs her back. He hates to upset her further but he knows he can't let the motorcycle incident float out there becoming a problem between the two of them, especially since he'd gotten into an argument with Mick. He clears his throat. "Beth, I'm glad I helped with Daniel but that's not why I came home early to find you."

Beth leans back again and looks at him warily. "Mick told you about the motorcycle, that's why he called and said he would be late for his riding lesson."

"I didn't tell him to wait, that was his idea. Kaida was there when I left. I'm not sure what she wants." Josef says

Beth sighs. "I asked Mick not to mention the motorcycle to you."

Josef looks at her chagrined. "He may have felt like he didn't have a choice, since I was snapping my fangs at him and threatening to take him apart if anything happened to you."

Beth slaps his chest. "Josef what the hell do you think you're doing? If you had a problem with it you should have said something when Mick suggested it."

"I was afraid," he says. "that if I had, you would double your efforts to learn to ride just to spite me, which considering you don't even want to learn, could have been disastrous." He puts his finger under his chin so she's looking him in the eyes. "And no matter what, I am not disappointed in you. Its one thing for Mick to learn to ride a horse, the pros far outweigh the cons. It's a good skill to learn without risks. The same cannot be said for the motorcycle."

Beth scowls at him not wanting to admit he's right. "You still should have come to me and not argued with Mick."

Josef shrugs. "It was his suggestion and I blame him for bringing it up."

Beth sits back her arms crossed. "Tell me why my learning to ride a motorcycle would be so awful. I doubt it would kill me."

Josef gets up and pours himself a drink, trying to get his thoughts in order. He asks her if she wants one but she declines. He sits next to her and sips his drink. "You know what Kaida does for a living, how getting away from the scene could be the difference between life and death?"

Beth nods.

"In a lot of instances, a motorcycle is a valuable tool that makes the odds of her getting away that much better. As a consequence she's good on a bike, she works at being able to handle a bike like a professional and even at that level of skill she was almost true dead. If I hadn't been with her, you'd of never had the chance to meet her."

Beth feels how upset he is at the memory but nods at him to continue. "It was several years ago and we were riding through Rome. It was about three in the morning and out of nowhere a truck hit her so fast and so hard, she didn't have a prayer. If I'd of been on that side instead of her we might both have ended up dead. As it was he clipped me and my bike went skidding out from under me. I tumbled across the road but I was in full leathers and a helmet, I wasn't hurt. I got to her, ripped off my leather jacket and tore open my arm with my fangs." He pauses and she can see him struggling. "She was close to being decapitated." He shakes his head at the memory. "If I hadn't been there to pour my blood into the wound she would have never made it, as it was, even with my blood to heal the wound she almost didn't make it. I carried her through the back alleys of Rome until I was able to get her into our hotel room and sink her in ice and pump her full of human blood."

This isn't exactly true. He'd actually run into an alley. Once Kaida healed enough to drink he found the closest human, ripped out his throat and poured his very human, nutritious blood down her throat. Before he knew it he had three dead humans stacked up in the alley. Kaida was still unconscious so she doesn't remember any of this and he'll be damned if she'll learn it now. Once she drank enough human blood that she was stable, he took her to their suite. He cleaned her up and ordered up more blood. He had to call up a few favors with the locals to have someone clean up the mess he'd left in the alley. It was not pretty but it saved Kaida's life and for that Josef won't apologize or feel guilty. There are few humans he wouldn't sacrifice in a heartbeat for one of his people.

Beth rubs his chest as he finishes. "Josef, it was an accident, bad luck. A drunk could run me down in the street."

He shakes his head. "Not the same thing. You know, I have diversified my business interests, I still get a great deal of my money from investments?"

She nods. "Sure, but what does that have to do with getting run down in the street?"

"Bear with me. What I do, what makes me good at it, is I take all the information I can get on a company or a situation and then I decide if it's worth the risk. For Kaida, because of what she does, even after an accident that almost killed her, it's still worth the risk. She still uses motorcycles in her work. For Mick," he smiles, "Now that he's healed, the Harley is a vast enjoyment and he's not riding a Ducati racing bikes through the traffic at break neck speeds like Kaida, so it's worth the risk. He's also old enough that baring something like what happened in Rome, he's old enough to heal pretty quickly." He brushes Beth's cheek with the back of his knuckle. "For you, for what you do, it just isn't worth the risk, at least not now, not until you can heal a great deal faster."

Beth nods. Since she has no intention of learning, it's not worth fighting about, especially since Josef is so adamant about it. She's learning to pick her battles with Mick and Josef but there are still a couple of things that have to be fixed. "Josef, I have no interest in learning to ride right now, so I'll go along with you on this, but if I change my mind." She trails off as she hears the low growl. She shakes her head. "Josef, you can't protect me forever."

"Why not? I am your sire and you will forever belong to be on some level." He says

Beth looks at him in exasperation. She knows he has no idea why this bothers her. He only sees that he can keep her from what he perceives as an avoidable risk and from his point of view, which makes his actions as her sire noble. She closes her eyes for a moment, calming her temper. "This is not a battle I'm going to win is it?"

He shakes his head. "Does it matter since you don't want to ride anyway?"

"Yes." She snaps "Because it's one more time I had to acquiesce to your wishes."

"Beth, how often have I been unreasonable about something you wanted to do?"

"I shouldn't have to run my stories by you." she says with a glower

He sits back, surprised that after all this time; this is still a point of contention. "I thought you understood that running your stories by me and my people has nothing to do with you being anything but a reporter. I don't care who you are, if you are vampire, writing stories for the human media, in my territory, then you run them by me. That is my right as the Master of this territory."

"You didn't need this when I was still human even though I was aware of the community." She sulks

He snorts and shakes his head knowing this is not going to go well. "Because Ryder was hacking your computer remotely and reporting to me what you were working on."

Beth stands up, fury in her eyes. "You lousy son of a bitch." She snarls.

He sits calmly on the couch, arms crossed. "As I recall, at one point you came to me to protect Mick and by extension the rest of us from a reporter. Why is that any different or worse than my having Ryder hack your computer?"

Beth hears Dean Fosters voice in her head, trying to use Mick to blackmail her. She sighs as she then remembers that thanks to her, Dean Foster ended up dead. "I'm not Foster." she says as she slumps down next to him.

"No, you're not, but you were a human, not one of us. I had an obligation to make sure you weren't a threat."

She looks at him sourly. "I hate it when you're right."

He smiles. "Look, I meet you in the middle most of the time, don't I?"

She nods reluctantly. "Mostly."

"Can you at least understand why I'm a bit over protective on this one point?"

She nods thinking about the fear he must have felt almost losing Kaida. "Yes." She waves her hand dismissively. "I don't want to learn anyway." She turns to him. "But there is one more thing we need to agree on."

"What?" he says already having a pretty good idea about what she is going to say.

"If you have a problem with something I'm doing, you come to me, you don't growl and snap at Mick, no matter if it was his idea or not. I'm the person doing it and I should be the one who hears your complaints."

Josef's look sours. "How about if I yell at you and Mick together? Will that make you happy?"

Beth nods. "Yes, as long as I'm there to keep you from doing something stupid."

Josef realizes that part of her objections is she fears he would harm Mick. "Beth, I may threaten Mick but if I didn't wring his neck the night you came back to me, after the two of you split up the very first time, believe me I won't ever hurt him." It was the truth, that night he was as close as he'd ever been to beating Mick to a bloody pulp. Josef grins at her. "Very seldom do we ever disagree about you or anything else but now and then," He shrugs "Now and then I need to vent and even snap a bit but Mick is good at staying calm and he invariably talks me down by pointing out that in some instances I'm being an ass."

"Still if you are angry at something I'm doing, tell me." She says.

He nods and smiles. He pulls her back into his arms. "Are you over being mad?"

She looks up into his inviting smile and knows she can't stay mad at him. "Yes."

He looks at his watch and grimaces. "I'm not going to go to the office but I have a conference call with my people in Tokyo. How about we go out tomorrow night?"

She sees the mischief in his eyes. "What do you have in mind?"

"I think it's been too long since you and I did something together that is fun. Would you like to go to Jenny's?" he asks.

Beth looks pleasantly surprised. "You never go to Jenny's, except to play poker."

He snorts. "I received a reminder in my email yesterday that going to Jenny's was part of my agreement with Jenny when she let me buy out Henry's contract. She said that going up the back stairs to play poker in a private room doesn't count."

Beth laughs. "Did you think she would let it go forever?"

"No, but I was waiting for a quiet time, when you and I could go together. You go with Mick so I wanted to go with you alone. Is that all right with you?" He says softly.

"Of course."

"Why don't you wear the backless dark blue dress?" He suggests

She thinks about the dark evening dress. "Wouldn't I be a little over dressed?"

He smiles at her. "There is no such thing."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kaida nods to herself as she looks around Mick's office. She notes the wood floors, the clean lines of the room and its furniture. It's masculine but not over the top. "Nice."

Mick leans back in his chair and grins. "What did you expect to find, an old metal desk, a rotary phone, and a flask of cheap bourbon in the top drawer?"

She laughs. "You have better taste than that, especially in bourbon."

She points to a solid steel door in the back of the office, wondering if it's a freezer room. "What's in there?"

Mick sits back sensing that whatever brought her to the office is making her nervous. He can sense her screwing up her courage. He nods towards the door. "That leads to the apartment next door. There are no tenants on this floor but me."

"Wow. Do you own the building?"

"I do, thanks in no small part to Josef. He takes care of my money, and invests it in things like this building. It took more outlay but he talked me into buying it thirty years ago. Now a 'corporation' owns it. That way it's easier to hide my name."

"Now that you don't live next door do you spend much time here?" she asks

He watches her as she restlessly moves through the room. He smiles ruefully. "Not a lot. I come here to file paperwork. Now and then I need it to meet with my human clients, they like the setting. It reassures them that I'm legit. The vampires are usually more flexible and of course I have a different reputation with the vampires. You didn't come in here to talk about my business. But let's get to whatever happened in Rome. I assume this why Josef is so upset about Beth learning to ride?"

Kaida nods and stops and turns to him. Apparently this isn't hard for her to talk about. "I almost got killed and if Josef hadn't been there to feed me his blood, let's just say I wouldn't be standing here." She explains to him what happened to her in Rome.

Mick thinks about it for a moment and shrugs. "The problem with Josef is that when bad things like that happen it takes a lot to get him to see that some things are just bad luck, that he can't control everything." He shakes his head. "You know why we all use to get the lecture about how relationships between vampires and humans don't work out?"

Kaida nods. "Sarah."

"Exactly. He's passed that but Josef doesn't do trauma well. Some people would look at what happened to you and Sarah, and see bad luck." Mick shakes his head. "Not Josef. He sees everything as a lesson, a way to keep from losing the people he cares for."

Kaida shrugs. "Can you blame him? Can you imagine the people he's known and lost in four hundred years?"

"No, I don't blame him but he has to be prepared for a fight from Beth if it's something important to her." He smiles, deciding it's time to change the subject. "I'm sure they'll work it out, especially since she doesn't want to learn in the first place." Mick leans forward in his chair. "Now we can get back to why you stopped in to see me."

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**Comments are always welcome and encouraged.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Moonlight isn't mine and I have no claim on it or any desire to make a buck off it. These days it's just a place I go to play…**

**This is an ongoing series. It started in 2008 with Rescued. This is the seventh installment**. **The installments need to be read in order otherwise it will make no sense. **

**A/N: Please forgive me if I screwed up any of the horse stuff. It's been a long time since I lived with one. **

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

___Last time____Mick leans forward in his chair. "Now we can get back to why you stopped in to see me."_

He watches her and sees her hesitate. He decides to question her in hopes she will relax and talk. "Where's Tucker anyway?"

"He's back at the house..."

"Did you tell him you were coming to see me?"

She nods. "Yes, I try not to keep things from him. I'll do it if I have to, to keep him safe which is why I didn't tell him about my past with Lance. I knew he'd want to find a way to go after him and his brothers."

Mick sees he's just going to have to get blunt with her. "Quite stalling, sit down and tell me what's going on."

Reluctantly Kaida does as she's told and sits across from him. "I need advice. You've been where I am and I need to understand how you got past it."

Mick nods for her to continue.

"We've lived at the house for six weeks. I've done almost everything Josef has asked so that Tucker would understand about us, about vampires. The only thing I haven't done..."

Mick sees right away where this is going. "Is drink from him when you're making love?"

"Yes. And I'm giving him the same line you gave Beth, that I'm afraid, that it's too dangerous."

He looks at her quizzically. "How do you know that's what I told Beth?"

"Beth told Tucker. She's been talking to him about what it was like to be turned. He flat out asked her if she could tell him why I wouldn't drink from him."

"And Beth told him that I used to be afraid I'd hurt her, and that it could be the same with you." Mick says.

Kaida nods.

Mick takes a minute to think this over. "Did you ask her about it?"

Kaida shakes her head. "No, I just figured it would be better if I came straight to you because she's right and obviously you found a way to get past it. I am so afraid I'll get carried away and kill him. Did...did Josef tell you I did that once...I slipped and killed a twenty year old boy?"

Mick shakes his head. He knows her pain and regret. "No, did he tell you I did the same thing only it was an eighteen year old girl?" he says.

An awful bitter laugh bubbles up out of Kaida and she begins to cry. "I've killed people for money but this…this was…."

Mick comes around the desk and kneels down next to her chair. "As long as you learn from it, his death won't be a waste. It hurts to kill someone so young, but you can make sure it doesn't happen again."

She wipes her tears. "But how do I take Tuckers blood without taking a chance of hurting him? How did you do it? How did you drink from Beth and not hurt her?"

He sees the embarrassment in her eyes from crying in front of him and moves back behind the desk.

"What did you do?" she asks again.

He snorts. "I let Josef talk sense into me. On occasion he complains because 'he's four hundred years old and still no one listens to him, that he did learn something in four hundred years.' And for once I listened."

She grins at Mick impersonating Josef's snarky tone. "What did he say?" she asks leaning forward.

"At the time I hadn't taken blood from a freshie for a very long time. Even after I drank from Beth it took her and Josef a long time to drag me back into that habit of drinking direct."

Kaida nods. "For years, unless Josef was around I never fed live. When we moved here, Josef told me how important it was for Tucker to see and understand what how we are meant to feed." She looks a bit embarrassed.

Mick smiles. "Josef pointed out to me, as I'll point out to you, that if you could go against your vampires most imperative need to drink from the living for years on end than with a couple of precautions there isn't any reason in this world that you can't keep from taking too much from your lover. You have the will power; you've already proven that by abstaining. You just need to be well rested and well fed ahead of time."

She looks at him mulling over what he's said. "You make a lot of sense."

He grins at her. "Josef made a lot of sense; I'm just passing it along. I will tell you one thing, beyond the obvious reason that Tucker needs to know what it's like to feed from a human so he'll have the right attitude when he's turned, tasting a human you love, well, you want to do it a few times before he's turned and you lose that particular taste forever."

She tilts her head and looks at him curiously. "Do you miss drinking from a human Beth?"

He shakes his head. "No, and do me a favor and never even breathe that thought in front of Beth. She and I had a rocky start after Josef turned her. I wasn't exactly in favor of the idea and it took us a long time to get past my problems. I don't miss her being human but a careless comment in front of her might give her that idea and we can't go back there. I could lose her if she starts thinking I'm not happy with who she's become. It hurts too much to go back there again."

Kaida nods. "That's all you did?"

"That and I made up my mind that Josef was right, that I could do this, the confidence didn't hurt either."

Kaida stands up the chair slides back away from her.

Mick smiles, knowing she's made up her mind.

"Thanks Mick." She grins at him. "I think I need to go home."

He nods. "You can do this."

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Kaida lands in the middle of the bed and Tucker rolls over smiling at her. "Wha?" He opens an eye and sees she's sitting next to him on the bed stripping off her clothing. He sits up wide awake watching her with both eyes open, loving the view.

"I want to try something." She says.

He grins at her. "Do I need to get rope or my handcuffs?"

She lightly pushes him down on the bed and moves into the circle of his arms. "We're going to take this slowly but if you don't have any objections I want to taste you."

"Anything you want, whenever you want. You know that." He replies

She licks and nips at his neck for a moment, loving the taste of his skin. Tucker tries with great difficulty to stay as still as possible. This is as close as she's gotten to wanting to sink her fangs into him and he knows this is the last stumbling block before she turns him. He's afraid if he makes any sudden moves she's not expecting, he'll spook her. He can feel her tongue and fangs glancing over his skin and then there is a sudden and quick pain that is followed by pleasure so intense he knows if it lasts very long he will need to roll her over and slide inside the warmth of her slick, inviting body.

Kaida silently thanks Mick and Josef for giving her this, for finding a way to give her a safe place to love this man who means so much to her. The taste of his blood in her mouth is just as amazing as Mick said it would be. She knows she wants to try this again, later when they are in the throes of passion. She pulls her fangs back and seals the wound on Tucker's neck. She smiles as he flops back on the bed a look of bliss on his face.

He grins at her. "Can we do that again?"

"Oh, yes, that and more." She says as she moves over him.

xxxxxxxxxx

Mick peaks around the door. "I just got in. Am I interrupting?"

Josef stands and pulls Beth up next to him. "No, I have to go kick ass over the phone. I hate it when people think because I'm not standing behind them I'm not paying attention." He kisses the top of Beth's head. "We're on for tomorrow night?"

She nods. "I'll be ready at 11?"

"That sounds good." He turns to Mick and snickers. "Have fun."

"Josef stop teasing him." She says to his retreating back.

Josef looks over his shoulder at the pair. "How much fun would that be? And Beth he can use my spare saddle. It will be more comfortable than one of yours."

"Thank you Josef but we probably won't get that far." Beth takes Mick's hand. "Ready?"

Mick shrugs. "As ready as I'll ever be."

A few minutes later Beth and Mick enter the stables. Mick knows that Beth has become accustomed to the stables since she spends so much time here but it still amazes him to think people would spend this kind of money to make sure their horses are happy. As Beth slides the large door opens up to a corridor large enough for three or four horses to pass each other. One side is lines with a dozen stalls with a tack room at the end. On the other side there is a large suite with an office nice home office. At the end of the hallway is another large sliding door that leads to a large corral that is partially covered and equipped with lighting for night riding.

"We're not going to worry about tack and gear today." Beth says

Mick nods and watches as she takes down a halter from a hook on the wall. She opens the stall door. He can hear her talking gently to the horse. It only takes a couple minutes and she leads Scout out of his stall. She ties the leads to an iron ring that's affixed to the wall and then turns to Mick. "The first rule is, never ever walk behind a horse unless you have no other choice. Our horses are very well trained but even they can be startled. It's best to get in the habit of not walking behind them so when you're around a horse that isn't as well trained you don't get kicked in the head. If you have to walk behind the horse then run your hand along his back and across his rump as you go so he always knows where you are." Beth motions to him to stand next to her. Beth takes his hand and runs it over the horses flank and down his legs. "Feel the muscles in that rump and those legs? If they get those back legs kicking outward there is a lot of power when they connect."

Mick nods. "Okay, no walking behind the horse."

Beth shows Mick everything from how to get the horse to let you lift his leg to look at his hooves to how to open his mouth to check his teeth and everything in between. Mick grooms Scout and feeds him a couple of treats. She can feel his original nervousness melting away as he gets the feel of being close to Scout and understanding the horses are not all that scary. "How are you doing? What do you think?"

"I feel pretty good. He's pretty calm." Mick says

"Good." Beth unties Scout from the ring on the wall. She hands Mick the reins. "Take him for a walk out in the corral."

"Okay, Beth when do you think I can ride him?"

She smiles at him. "Right now if you want…."

Mick nods. "I think so. I don't want to go galloping off across the lawn but I'd like to at least get up and walk him around."

"He'll need to be saddled. Flip that switch on the wall over there. It will light up the corral and give Scout plenty of light to see so he won't get spooked by shadows. He's still getting use to us and his new home and we want him to be as comfortable as possible. Then come back here and I'll show you how to saddle a horse." She grins at Mick. "Josef was nice enough to loan you his extra saddle but you should get one of your own. After a while they conform to your butt and it makes them all the more comfortable. If you want we can go shopping and you can buy one."

"They conform to your butt?"

"Sure, your butt, and the shape of the horse, which makes it more comfortable for both of you. Did you play baseball as a kid?" Beth asks.

"Sure."

"Did you have a mitt, a leather one that needed to be worked and oiled?"

Mick nods but looks at her suspiciously. "How do you know that? You never played baseball."

Beth smirks at him. "Yea, but I dated a baseball player in high school."

Mick squints a minute remembering back to Beth's high school days. "The goofy blonde kid."

She sniffs. "Adam was not goofy."

Mick remembers the kid. He was awkward and clumsy as hell around Beth but a good athlete on the field. Mick laughs. "Yea, he was."

Beth snorts. "The same idea applies to a saddle. There are a lot of different types of oils and methods but in the end it pretty much comes down to working the leather until it's really soft. Being saddle soar is not a lot of fun. You'll get that in the beginning, especially when you're learning, but it's like anything the more you do it the better you get and the more your muscles get worked."

Once she's gets the saddle in place she turns to Mick. "Lead him outside and I'll show you how to mount and how to use the reins so Scout will know where you want him to go."

Mick looks at Scout and grins as he leads him out into the corral. Beth explains how to mount Scout as she moves from one side to the other, lengthening the stirrups. She turns to Mick. "Ready?"

He nods. Puts his foot in the stirrup and swings his leg over the saddle. Beth makes sure the stirrups are the right length for his long legs and looks up. "Now nudge him gently with your knees and heels. He's smart; he'll know what you want."

Beth climbs the side of the corral and sits on the top of the fence watching Mick walk Scout around the corral. She looks down at her phone and giggles when she reads the text from Emily. Beth holds up her phone and snaps a picture of Mick. Mick narrows his eyes and watches her. "What are you up to? I'm pretty new to this for you to be making fun of me."

Beth snorts. "Nobody is making fun of you. Emily wanted me to text a picture of you riding. That's all."

"Why?" he asks not sure they aren't going to use it to tease him later for something he's doing wrong.

Beth grins as she reads the next text from Emily. She shakes her head and looks up at Mick. "You have no idea how sexy women find men when they are riding a horse."

"Really?" Mick grins.

"Oh yea," Beth says with a grin. "and even though Emily isn't crushing on you like she did when she was a kid, she knows hot when she sees it."

Mick shakes his head. "I had no idea."

xxxxxxxx

Josef looks up as he hears anger in Beth's voice. "I told you it was time to stop but, no, you had to go all macho and keep going." Josef wonders for a moment who she's mad at and smiles when she walks into the room followed by Mick who is walking very gingerly. Josef can't help it he laughs at the sight. "A little saddle soar?"

Mick snorts. "It didn't feel bad while I was riding, and I figured that my vampire healing would take care of it."

"I told you." Beth snaps. "I'll go get you ice. Go get some blood."

Mick hobbles towards the bar and Josef takes pity on him. "Sit. I'll get it but after you have a drink, go up and see the girls. You'll bounce back faster."

Mick nods. "I don't know why the hell Beth is mad. I'm the one who's in pain."

"She's mad because she's afraid you'll decide you don't want to ride because of one bad experience." Josef says as he hands Mick the glass of blood. "Just like she decided she didn't want to ride the Harley."

"You think that's it?"

"Yes, that's it. How was it besides the pain?"

Mick grins. "It was nice, even calm. I can see why she likes to spend so much time with the horses. Part of the reason I was wary is I haven't had any good experiences with animals since Coraline turned me. I wish all animals reacted like the horses do. I'd get another dog."

Josef cocks his head. "I never realized you liked dogs."

Mick nods. "Sure I always had at least one dog. My last one disappeared right after I met Coraline. Then later," he shrugs. "I figured they'd all hate me."

Josef sighs and tries to decide whether to tell Mick that Coraline most likely killed his dog. She would not have wanted Mick to question too closely why the dog didn't like her. The dog was most likely fiercely protective of its territory and Mick would have been part of that territory. If he loved the dog it might have given him second thoughts about Coraline and she wouldn't have wanted that. Josef shrugs to himself. This isn't information Mick needs at this late date. The bitch is dead, he can't kill her again. He decides good news is better than bad. "I know someone who could set you up with a dog."

"That would be great. Do you know what breeds he works with?" Mick asks.

"No, but I'll have him call you and the two of you can talk it over. I'm not into pets so it doesn't interest me and I know nothing beyond he has dogs. He's the grandson of the man who trains our horses."

"Didn't you have a dog when you were a kid?" Mick asks.

Josef snorts. "I was a kid in the sixteen hundred's. We had dogs around but they were more early warning systems than man's best friend. We threw them scraps so they would hang around and bark at anyone who they didn't know. Usually they were half feral, not for sleeping at the end of your bed. Back then most people didn't form the same bonds with dogs like people did in later years."

"How about cats?" Mick asks thinking of Mo's cat spitting at him. "Does your friend work with cats? I don't want a cat, I'm just curious."

"Apparently cats are too sensitive to our irregularities to adapt to being a vampire's best friend. Now back to your riding lesson. Besides being at ease with the horses, what did you think?"

"Beth's a better teacher than I am. By the time she the lesson was over I felt so comfortable with Scout that I was willing to go farther and ride."

"If she's a better teacher, why didn't you quite when she told you to?"

Mick looks at Josef sheepishly. "Ego. Where she made her mistake was telling me how sexy women think men are when they ride a horse." He explains about the picture and the texts from Emily. "I decided I could push the practice a bit farther."

Josef laughs. "Then be sure you tell her that so she doesn't worry you won't try it again."

Mick nods and stands. "I'm starting to feel better. I probably don't need the ice."

"Probably not but she needed to do it for you. If you were human, you wouldn't be able to walk tomorrow because in addition to a soar butt you're legs would hurt like hell. Go see the girls and I'll send Beth along when she comes back with the ice."

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Lance stands in front of the dark town car on the tarmac at LAX. "You will go into the terminal and get a rental car, use the fake I.D. and credit cards I gave you. Then go to Jenny's and insinuate yourself into the community."

"You expect me to drive, on my own, in a city I've never visited before? Are you crazy?" Jean says. He nods towards the car behind Lance. "You have one get me a driver."

Lance narrows his eyes at his brother. "No, no driver. I want you to blend in. If you are chauffeured around L.A. like you own it Josef will get word and start to investigate. I'd rather Josef didn't know we are here. Try to pretend you're something besides a rich trust fund asshole. The two of you have never met and as you point out you've never been to this city so hopefully you won't run into anyone that can identify you. I want you to insinuate yourself into the community and see what you can find out about Beth, her family and anyone else who is important to her."

"I'll get lost." Jean complains

"Get a car with GPS navigation. You love all those damn bells and whistles. Put that knowledge to use." Lance says.

Jean nods thoughtfully. "All right. Where else should I go? There must be other vamp bars besides this Jenny's."

Lance makes a sweeping motion. "This town is crawling with mix and unmixed bars. They are all over the place. I'm sure you won't have any trouble making friends and finding other places to go. I made a reservation for you at the Four Seasons. Contact me when you have information."

Jean hides a smile. This may not be so bad after all. "And what are you going to be doing, while I'm hard at work?"

Lance snorts. Jean wouldn't know hard work if it bit him in the ass. "I'm going to try to get a line on Mason. I don't think they are here yet but they also can't be too far off. If I could intercept him it would make things much simpler."

Jean starts to walk to the terminal

"Jean?"

He turns back to Lance. "What? I'm doing what you want."

"Don't disappoint me." Lance's deadly tone makes his point.

"You can be assured I will do my best." Jean says as he gets the hell out of there.

**Xxxxxxxxxx**

**Comments are always welcome, heck they are encouraged. **


	7. Chapter 7

**Moonlight isn't mine and I have no claim on it or any desire to make a buck off it. These days it's just a place I go to play…**

**This is an ongoing series. It started in 2008 with Rescued. This is the seventh installment**. **The installments need to be read in order otherwise it will make no sense. **

**A/N: This is shaping up to be a busy week so there may not be a Saturday post.**

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Mason sighs and he drives the Lincoln Navigator through the night. He and Jelena flew to Vancouver. From there they rented a car and are on their way south to California. With him driving at night and her driving during the day, with meal stops they should be there in a couple of days. They could have flown into LAX but that would make it easier for Lance to find them. No use hanging a target on their backs. Thankfully the big SUV has heavily tinted windows so it should help him sleep through the daylight hours. He glances behind him at Jelena's sleeping form stretched out on the cargo deck. He senses that she's in a deep sleep. He'll give the wolves' one thing, not much stops them from food or sleep. Mason turns his phone on. He doesn't know if Lance has the connections to trace him through the GPS on his phone but he's not taking any chances. He only turns it on to check his messages. He looks down and swipes at the text. **When I find you I will kill you. L. **Mason turns the phone back off and snorts. Lance may not have the chance to kill him, Josef may do it for him if they get to Josef's and things don't break his way. His life could get very ugly, very fast.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Beth watches Josef with appreciation. He's wearing a dark gray Armani suit with a dark maroon tie. "You look amazing." She says grinning.

He eyes her with the same deep appreciation. "Of course I do. I do have standards, a certain image to uphold."

Beth turns slowly in her backless evening gown. "Do I meet your standards?"

Josef takes her hand and kisses her knuckles never taking his eyes from hers. "Always." Not letting go of her hand he pulls her in close and lightly nips at her neck.

"Keep that up and we won't even make it to the car." she says

Josef pulls back, dark desire in his eyes. "As much as I'd like to take you right here, I think, I'll save the best for last. Anticipation can be its own reward."

A shiver of delight runs through Beth at his words. Two can play that game. She watches Josef, a sly smile on her face as she takes his hand palm up. She extends a talon and makes a small incision in the muscle running between his thumb and wrist. The pair of them watch as the blood wells up. Beth smiles at him and laps at the blood, like a cat licking cream from a bowl. She hears Josef growl with pleasure. She seals the cut with her tongue. She looks up at him and smiles brightly. "Are you ready to go?"

Josef growls and backs her up against the wall, both her hands in his. Beth molds her body against his as he once again licks and nips at her neck.

Tucker wonders where everyone has gotten to, when he comes around the corner to find Josef and Beth. Before he can turn on his heel and leave, Josef looks over his shoulder, fangs extended and snarls menacing.

"Sorry." Tucker stammers and finishes the turn, leaving the room.

Josef touches his forehead to Beth's, pulling his vampire back. He can hear Beth snickering in his ear. "I forgot we do have one wondering human. He's so sense blind he has no clue what's around the next corner. It must be what human parents go through with a small child."

Beth leans back and looks at Josef. She runs her finger across his parted lips "Are you sure you want to go? I'm sure we can think of something else to do."

Josef nods. He stands back and straightens his jacket and tie. "You are arrestingly beautiful." He takes her hand. "Besides, I already called down to the garage and had the new Bentley brought around."

She shakes her head at him grinning. "You want an excuse to drive that big beast."

He takes her hand. "You haven't even seen it."

Beth stops when she gets through the front door. There sitting in the drive is a very handsome, deep dark red, luxury car that somehow manages to be sporty.

"It's not a beast." He tells her as he opens the car door for her.

She shakes her head. "No, it's not." She smiles up at him as she brings her legs into the car. "It's very pretty."

He scowls at her. "My cars are not pretty. They are beautiful, they are sexy, but they are not pretty."

Josef smiles as he hears Beth's laughter as he goes around to the driver's side.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jean sits in his rental car and watches Jenny's parking lot. He knows the best way to go into a place like this, without a lot of questions, is to find the right camouflage. He doesn't have to wait long. He watches as a lone woman parks her car. He gets out of his car and positions himself so their paths will cross on the way to the front door. As he approaches her, he gives her a charming smile. "Excuse me," He's decided that since Lance doesn't want anyone to suspect who he is, it's best if he doesn't use his native language or accent. He's lived all over Europe and in many places over his life so he has no problem taking up another accent. His fake I.D. is in the Italian name of Nico Argiro. He lightly accents his words with Italian to match his name. He notes the light in the woman's eyes when she looks him over.

"Yes?" she asks.

He nods towards the club. "Is this a private club or is it open to anyone? I forgot to ask the concierge at my hotel when he suggested I come here."

Mandy looks him over. She notes his Armani suit and his hand stitched shoes and smiles. "Oh, you won't have any trouble getting in. They have security but it's more to keep humans from stumbling in or trouble makers. You're not a trouble maker are you?" she asks with a glint in her eye.

He holds his hands out, palms up at his sides and shakes his head. "Never." He grins wolfishly at her. "I'm a lover."

She smiles at him. "That's good. No, you shouldn't have any trouble getting in at all." The truth is Jenny doesn't discriminate. As long as a vamp can afford to buy a drink, and doesn't cause trouble, they're allowed to enter the club. When Vampires 'dress up' it can mean very different things to different vampires. Some of the old ones can be attached to some very out dated clothing. They try to not look too out of style but you can find everything from puffy pirate shirts to leather gear to Armani suits. It can be a real grab bag of times and clothing choices. If Jenny had a dress code she would exclude someone.

He hesitates a moment. "You've been so kind. Would you honor me by letting me buy you a drink?"

She thinks about the look on her friend's faces if she comes in with this gorgeous looking man on her arm. "I'm meeting friends but you're more than welcome to sit with us."

Jean smiles to himself. Better yet. More people will mean more cover. "Thank you. I think I would enjoy that very much."

Beth lays her hand on Josef's leg and smiles as she feels the muscles bunch under her hand. She lightly runs her nails up the inside of his thigh. She smiles as she looks out the side window. She knows if she looks at him, she'll break out laughing. Teasing Josef is fun but she could as find herself on the side of the road with her dress around her ankles if she gets too cocky.

Josef feels her hands on his leg. He smiles into the darkness. _Mine, mine, mine. _The voice in the back of his mind repeats. _She belongs to me._ He grins to himself knowing this is going to be a fun night, full of teasing touches and soft flesh. He pulls into a parking spot but leaves the car idling.

Beth looks at him confused. "No valet parking?" She can't imagine him parking one of his babies where it could be dinged or dented.

"In a minute." He leans across the seat and cups her face. He kisses her, thrusting his tongue into her mouth, blooding his tongue on one of her fangs. She tastes his blood in her mouth and moans. He lets the kiss linger for a moment and quickly pulls back, puts the car in gear and moves it to the valet. Beth groans at the loss of sensation and smiles wickedly. As she's already proven, two can play this game.

xxxxxxxx

Jean looks at the three women and the other man in the group and is amazed at how welcoming they have been since his arrival in their midst. When he thinks about it, he's surprised at how much fun he is having. This is so different than the clubs at home. The European vampires of course know who he is and because of his brothers, treat him much differently. He wonders if this is why Christophe left home so long ago and if this is why Mason is helping Jelena, is it the excuse he's been looking for to break from the family?

He feels the difference in the room as all the eyes turn towards the door. He feels the edge of power rolling through the room. He hopes whoever is entering the club it's not someone he knows.

Beth tilts her head at Josef, questioning the flow of power coming off him. Josef so seldom feels the need to allow the people surrounding him to feel even a touch of his power.

Josef grins at the mountainous vampire standing in front of him at the door to Jenny's. "Aldrich." Josef says solemnly.

"Josef." He grunts. "Nice to have you darkening our door again." He smiles as he turns to Beth. "Hey Beth."

She moves forward and stands on her tippy toes. Aldrich bends and she kisses his cheek. "Hi."

When he hears Josef's soft snarl, Aldrich smirks at Josef, over the top of Beth's head. She moves back and puts her arm through Josef's. "Shush. Aldrich is my friend."

Before Josef can answer Jenny strolls up. "Josef." Jenny nods to him as she and Beth hug. Josef watches the two woman laugh and talk and he's surprised and a little hurt that Beth's become so familiar to this place with Mick and not him. "Let's go find a table." Beth says tugging on his arm.

"I'll get one for you. The club is filling up and I don't want you to leave because you can't find a place to sit." Jenny says with a smile.

Josef shakes his head. "Jen, I said I'd be here."

"Yes, but you need VIP seating or people are going to be bugging you all night. I want the two of you to have a good time. Give me a couple minutes and I'll set something up."

Beth looks at him questioningly. "Why? It's not like that when we go other places."

"Yes, but because this club is vampires only, this is the one place our people are the most at home. They tend to think they can take the chance to bug Josef about all kinds of things, business opportunities, investments, all kinds of goofy schemes. One night years ago one of them tried to get him into some plan to do some rum running from Mexico." Jenny says with a smile.

Beth looks confused and Josef smiles. "It was during prohibition." He turns to Jenny. "And it was quite profitable." He laughs at the surprised look on her face. "It's fine. Jen."

"All right. I do have booth that's clear. You and Beth can have that." The pair follows her into the club. Beth isn't prepared for the reaction of the crowd. She didn't realize until that minute what Master of the territory means to the vampires in Josef's territory. Every eye in the room turns to them as they enter the main part of the club. Josef feels Beth's unease and wraps his arm around her, pulling her close. Jenny stops at a large booth and moves aside so Beth and Josef can get seated. She smiles at Josef, "You know if you do this more often, they won't be quite so." She trails off. "Interested."

Josef snorts. "Agreed." Josef nods to the crowd and like that they go back to what they were doing.

"Is this why I felt power flowing from you?" Beth asks

He nods. "Yes, a gentle reminder of why I'm in a position of power."

Jean recognizes Josef right away and is taken aback by the reaction of the people at his table. What surprises him the most is the emotions roiling through the room. There is no fear, just excitement and pleasure. He hears Mandy sigh and glances at her. "Who is that?" he asks, fulfilling his role as the clueless guy from out of town.

"That is Josef Kostan, the master of this territory and his lover, Beth Turner." Mandy tells him.

"Do you know them?" he asks.

"Just him. We went out a few times, before he got tangled up with her." Mandy says with distaste.

"Mandy, stop that." Holly admonishes. "You don't even know Beth. You're mad because Josef and Mick turned you down last time you tried to get either of them to take you out."

"On top of that," Estelle continues. "Last time Beth was in here with Mick, our Mandy tried to get friendly with him and Beth told her to knock it off or she'd be sorry."

Mandy looks at her friends. "Come on, you can't tell me you're not a little envious. The woman has not one, but two of the sexist vampires either of us is ever going to meet." Mandy turns to Jean. "Present company excluded." She says with a smile. "Not to mention, they both have tons of money and Josef rules the territory."

Holly shrugs. "Maybe a little but I've met Beth a couple times at the morgue when I went to meet Guillermo for lunch. She's very nice, and let's face it, she doesn't have to be."

"Hol, you are such a push over. You always see the best in people." Mandy says.

"Two?" Jean asks.

"Yes, two." She nods towards the couple. "Josef and his best friend Mick St. John, who is Oh My God so sexy. She lives with both of them."

"But that doesn't mean," Jean begins.

Mandy snorts and waves her hand. "Yes it does, when they've both told me they are in love with her. I don't know how she did it, but she's got them both, tight. This is the first time I've ever heard of Josef being exclusive to one woman."

Estelle scrunches her nose. "Yea, and what's the deal with her and the freshie. I see her around town shopping with, a human woman. I know is or was one of Josef's freshies. Why would you hang out with food?"

Andrew shakes his head. "From where I'm sitting Kostan is the lucky one. She's gorgeous."

Mandy elbows him. "How would you like to have a werewolf for family? I hear her father is a werewolf."

"Really?" Jean asks.

Mandy shrugs. "It's what I heard."

Soon the talk turns to other matters and Jean can't get it back to Beth and Josef without it being obvious so he lets it go and concentrates on having fun. He hopes to separate one of the women from the group to have some further fun later in the night.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Josef feels Beth's unease at the subtle emotions running through the crowd. The vampires around them have gone back to what they were doing before Josef and Beth entered, but the heightened awareness of them still brushes over Beth's skin, and it's making her jumpy. She looks nervously around her as he guides her to the booth. Beth doesn't think she could do this without the feel of Josef's hand on the small of her back. The single touch of her sire and her lover is enough to help her calm her vampire. This feels so weird. No one ever gives them a second look when it's she and Mick, well except for every damn female trying to proposition him.

The scene aggravates Josef. There was a time when he would not have had to remind anyone who he was by washing his power through the room. It's not a good sign that he even felt the need. There was a time when he would have felt at home, when they would have welcomed him as one of their own. What Jenny described as them 'bothering him' with business propositions and the like, was one of the things that held his territory together. This unease they feel isn't a result of his staying away from Jenny's for so many years, it's more than that. This trip tonight has made him realize that his connection with the people in his territory is to a certain extent, broken. Something has to change and in a hurry. One of his strengths as Master of this territory has always been his people's knowledge that he is so much a part of the fabric of the community and the vampires in it, that he would do whatever necessary to protect them.

He admits to himself the isolation is a result of his withdrawal from their lives since he turned Beth. He eyes Beth out of his peripheral vision. Not for the first time he wonders what it is that draws him to her. She's beautiful, but Josef's life is filled with beautiful women. The only other woman who drew him like this, who had claimed him so fully, died in a hospital bed in New York. He snorts as he wonders how he ended up so in love with any woman, that he would let her bed his best friend. Over the last few years this arrangement has made them all happy, but he knows himself well enough to know that he's feeling some discordance. He has to either fix it or else cut his ties to Beth and Mick because if the disquiet inside him worsens and he becomes possessive and territorial someone could end up dead. Right now though, he needs to gentle Beth's nerves.

He turns to her. "Do you have anything planned for tomorrow?" He knows the one way to get her mind off of the crowd is to ignore it and get her talking.

Beth nods happy for the distraction. "Yes, I'm going out to do some work on a story. I don't have any appointments but I want to be out in the field by late afternoon."

"Where will you be?" He asks

"Humans Josef, they are all humans. So don't start bugging me about what I'm working on. That was the deal." She says.

He glowers at her. He knows she wouldn't be so defensive if she wasn't up to something, but she's right. He agreed to let it go when it's humans. Before he can question her further she smiles sweetly at him.

"Why do you ask?"

He decides to ask Mick if he knows what she's up to, but right now he knows it's more important to enjoy their evening. "I was thinking, I have a big empty suite at the Sanguine. We could stay here for a while, have a bite, dance and instead of going home, we could stay the night in the suite."

Beth hears something in his voice that is a bit off. "Josef is something the matter?"

He starts to shake his head no, but stops. He takes her hand and rubs his thumb across the inside of her wrist. "You and I keep missing each other. I want to spend some time alone with you."

Beth hears warning bells in the back of her mind but before she can respond a large man sets a chair down across the table from them and plops down in it. He grins at Josef and leers at Beth. "Josef." He says with a grunt. "I'll say one thing; you always did have exceedingly good taste in women."

Beth looks the man over. He must be six foot eight or more, gray hair, a long gray beard and blue eyes so pale they are almost gray. "Are you Santa Clause?" She teases.

He grins at her. "I was at one time. You want to sit on my lap?"

Josef snorts. "Gunnar, the least you could do is come up with original lines if you're going to proposition my woman."

Gunnar sits back, his hand over his heart. "You wound me." He says mockingly.

Josef glances at Beth. "This reprobate could indeed have been the origin of Santa. Gods knows he's old enough. Beth, this is Gunnar. Gunnar, this is Beth and she's special to me so watch your mouth."

Beth tips her head studying Gunnar. "Vanessa old?" she asks Josef.

He nods. "Yes, she and Gunnar are contemporaries."

Gunnar's eyes light up at the mention of Vanessa. "Are she and Frank still together?" he asks

Josef nods. "Yes, and they are happy so stay the hell away from them."

Beth looks at Josef questioningly.

Josef waves his hand in Gunnar's direction. "He cleans up well."

"Very well." Gunnar says with a grin. "I could give you a run for your money if I had a mind to."

Josef shakes his head. "Not with Beth."

Gunnar studies Beth for a moment. "Aye, you're right. Who'd of thought it possible for someone to get through that wall of yours?"

Beth can tell Josef is starting to get exasperated. She senses he is fond of Gunnar but she suspects Gunnar enjoys driving Josef a little crazy.

"Gunnar is there something I can do for you, or are you here to annoy me and Beth on one of our few nights out?"

"No, I dropped over to say hi to the lovely lady." Beth notes Gunnar leering at her again and shakes her head at his antics. She also senses his loneliness. She pats his hand across the table. "Are you all right?"

He smiles softly at her. "Yes, child. I'm fine." He says taking her hand and kissing the back of it. "You remind me of Guinevere."

"Arthur's, Guinevere?" Beth asks kiddingly.

"Aye, she was a sweet girl, a kind and gentle lass. She should have steered clear of both Arthur and that sanctimonious ass Lancelot."

Beth looks at Josef, her eyes wide in surprise at the turn of the conversation.

"I told you he is old. That's not the half of it." He narrows his eyes at Gunnar. "If I had to guess he started life as one of Erik the Red's raiders." Josef answers.

Beth eyes Gunnar. He shrugs. "I may have spent some time with the Vikings."

When no more information is forth coming Beth continues. "That's not quite how the legend of Richard and Guinevere goes." Beth says.

Gunnar waves a hand in the air. "And that my dear is why they are called legends. There is a grain of truth but not much of the truth." Beth hears the ages of loneliness and sorrow in his voice.

Gunnar stands. "I'll be off."

"Wait." Beth says as he turns to leave. "You'll call us if you need to talk," she says softly. "Or need to just be."

He nods at her "Aye." He looks at Josef. "Hold this one close. Don't let anyone take her from you." He says fiercely and turns and melts into the crowd.

Beth feels Josef stiffen at Gunnar's words and turns back to him. She reaches out to Josef and knows something is wrong. "Josef, I think going to the Sanguine is a good idea."

He nods, glad she's agreed. "The music is about to start. Would you like to dance?"

She smiles at him. "Very much."

**Xxxxxxxxxx**

**Comments are always welcome; in fact encouraged so I know I'm not making a mess. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Moonlight isn't mine and I have no claim on it or any desire to make a buck off it. These days it's just a place I go to play…**

**This is an ongoing series. It started in 2008 with Rescued. This is the seventh installment. The installments need to be read in order otherwise it will make no sense. **

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Josef stands and holds out his hand to her. Beth smiles softly at him as he pulls her into his arms and out onto the dance floor. She reaches inside his suit jacket trying to press herself as close to him as possible. The people around them, their watchful eyes don't matter to her anymore. All her attention is centered on one person and he's holding her in his arms. Josef slides his hands down her sides and pulls her close. He smiles wolfishly as he realizes as his hands slide over her, she's not wearing anything under her dress. He's surprised he didn't notice earlier. It is going to take a great deal of concentration to keep from ravaging her right here on the dance floor.

Mandy seethes as she watches Beth and Josef. The obvious love that they share makes her so envious she denies what is right in front of her.

Jean watches Mandy realizing she's watching Josef and Beth dance and it might be a good time to get some questions answered. "How old is the woman, anyway?"

Mandy scowls. "Mid thirties, Josef turned her five or six years ago. I'm sure he'll tire of her soon now that she's not a fledgling, now that she's not dependant on him."

Jean frowns. "It appears to me that there is far more going on there than just a sire's desire to live up to his responsibility." He turns to Mandy. "You cannot," He hesitates seeing the hatred in her eyes. He realizes she has no intention of seeing the relationship between Josef and Beth for what it is and swallows the rest of his thought. Her blind fury will not allow her to see the truth.

Mandy turns to Estelle "And if you think I'm afraid of that blond bit of fluff you're mistaken."

Andrew snorts. "Then go try to cut in on their dance." Andrew is sure Mandy will back down if for no other reason than she won't want to make Josef angry. His mouth drops open as she gets up.

"Not a bad idea." Mandy says

Andrew reaches out for her. "Mandy, wait. Don't." But she's up and moving before he can stop her. Andrew swears. "This is going to be really bad." He mutters

Jean shakes his head. He agrees with Andrew. Mandy will be lucky if Josef doesn't hand her, her head. No vampire, let alone one as powerful as Josef, will allow anyone to harm someone who he cares so deeply for.

Josef spots Mandy crossing the dance floor and sighs in recognition that this is not going to be the quiet night he'd hoped for.

_Now what?_ She asks not wanting to move out of his arms.

_A pain in the ass._ Josef answers. The last time he'd seen Mandy was in the night club when they were trying to track Nicky. She had wrapped her arms around him and Beth had fled in anger. The last thing he needs is Mandy intruding on their evening. At least this time he'll be prepared if Beth bolts.

Beth feels a tap on her shoulder and turns to find Mandy standing behind her. Mandy doesn't even acknowledge Beth. She smiles at Josef. "We've missed you Josef. Why don't you call me? We'll do the town together."

Josef watches Beth warily. He intends to decline but before he can, Beth steps up in Mandy's face and growls. "What did I tell you?"

Mandy snorts and looks down her nose at Beth. Again, turning her back on Beth she takes a step towards Josef and lays a hand on his chest. "Come on Josef, it will be fun." She smiles invitingly at him. "It will be like the old days."

"I told you to stay away from what's mine." Beth says.

Josef is warmed by her possessiveness. He realizes that this show of territory over him, as childish as it is, is something he very much needs from her. But as flattered as he is, he doesn't want Beth to get hurt. He also doesn't want to have to hurt Mandy if she tries to do something to Beth. He moves to put his body between the two women but in an instant Beth brings a little of her vampire to the surface. He watches as her hands elongate the nails razor sharp. In one swift movement Beth has a hand wrapped around Mandy's throat. "Don't move." Beth says as she pushes her way past Mandy's shields and into her mind.

Mandy panics as she realizes the blond bit of fluff has her frozen in place. Her eyes open wide and fear rolls off of her as she realizes Beth is a telepath, just like her grandsire.

Josef senses the mental power behind Beth's words. He can see the fear shooting through Mandy. "Beth let her go." Josef says. The last time she did this was with Katrina and that was without her telepathy. That time Josef and Mick had stayed out of it and Daniel talked her down by cowering Katrina.

Silently Beth shakes her head.

Josef frowns. "Come on baby, you've made your point." He says softly.

Beth smiles coldly. "I told her Josef. I told her and she won't listen. You know what I could do to her; I could make it so she forgets you even exist. I could," she hesitates and takes a shuddering breath. "Do a lot of unpleasant things to her."

At this point Josef doesn't care what happens to Mandy but he is concerned that the repercussions of Beth hurting Mandy is such a public display could be disastrous. It's bad enough that every vampire in the club now knows Beth is a telepath. He'd like to keep the fact that she's so powerful at such a young age a secret and that becomes harder to hide the longer this goes on. He's also concerned that she's not listening to him, that it could take force to make her let Mandy go unharmed. If that happens Mandy is out of luck because he won't hurt Beth or let anyone else hurt her.

Gunnar crosses the dance floor. He stands next to the three vampires. "Problem Beth?" he asks.

"She's rude and mean to me." Beth says and knows that sounds whinny. She looks up at Gunnar, unshed tears in her eyes. "She won't leave Josef and Mick alone and I'm tired of it."

Gunnar smiles down at her. "You are of Vanessa's line and I know what you could do to her, but I know what it would cost you." He glances at Josef and sees the grim look on his face. "And so does Josef."

Beth glances at Josef and sees the worry in his eyes.

"I think," Gunnar begins. "Josef and Mick are both old enough to take care of themselves." Gunnar eyes Josef. "I'm sure now they know how upsetting this is to you, they will be quicker to make sure Mandy and her ilk go away."

Josef sighs knowing Gunnar is right. He and Mick are both at fault to some degree for not drawing a line in the sand to the females that are always propositioning them. "He's right. I'm sure Mick will agree that we didn't understand how this was affecting you. I thought since you knew we were interested that it would be enough."

"I know you both love me. It's not just that they are always asking you out. They always treat me like I don't matter, just because I'm younger, that they can do whatever they want and I can't retaliate." Beth says and Josef sees her hand tighten on Mandy's throat. "But I can."

Gunnar motions to Aldrich who moves fast once he's summand. He was sure as hell not going to get between Josef, a telepathic Beth and one of the old ones just to save Mandy's sorry ass.

Josef wraps his arms around Beth from behind. "It's time to let go." He whispers.

Beth takes a shuddering breath and loosens her grip both physically and mentally. "Get away from me." She says as she pushes Mandy away.

Mandy's fear over rides her common sense and she snarls at Beth. Before Beth can reach out to her again Josef tugs her back away from Mandy.

Gunnar snags Mandy's arm and turns to Aldrich. "Aldrich I think it would be best if you could escort this foolish woman out of here before my young friend does something unfortunate."

Aldrich snorts. "It will be my pleasure." Aldrich has Mandy by the elbow. "You're eighty-sixed for sixty days."

"Me? She tries to throttle me, uses telepathy on me, and I'm banned?" Mindy snarls and tries to free herself.

Aldrich nods and holds on tight to her arm. "She warned you to stay away from Josef and Mick but you had to get cute. You were causing trouble, not her. She just ended it. Now get out and don't come back until the sixty days are up."

Sometime during the altercation the music stopped. Josef looks at the lead singer and motions for him to continue.

Beth looks up at Gunnar. "Thank you. I don't usually let things get away from me like that."

Gunnar smirks at Josef over her head. "I see you and your sire have the same temperament."

Josef scowls at Gunnar. He knows the old vampire is just needling him but he knows there is some truth to the accusation.

Gunnar pats Beth's arm. "I was on my way out when I felt your distress. I'm glad you are alright. Now I must be off." He grins at Josef. "Maybe one of these days I will take you up on your kind offer to visit. Josef, take care of her, the secret is out."

Josef snorts and they watch Gunnar disappears into the crowd.

Josef takes Beth in his arms again. He knows he's going to have to talk to Hank and Vanessa about this incident. Her lack of control is somewhat worrisome. He also has to warn Mick. He's not sure how far Beth would have gone if he and Gunnar weren't there. Beth lays her head on the solid planes of his chest and tries to keep the tears at bay. The last thing she wants to do is cry in front of all these people after making a fool of herself.

Jean slips out of the club. He doesn't know if Mandy has any more information on Beth but if not she might know someone who does. The woman is screaming mad and it's the best time to pump her for information. Jean is starting to get an idea that this night might change the direction of his life but he's going to need some leverage.

"You're not mad because of what I did to her are you?" Beth asks

"No I'm not mad, but until tonight nobody knew about your telepathy except a few of our closest people. If you were going to announce it to the community you picked the right place to do it." He says.

Beth hears the amusement in his tone but also worry. She bites her bottom lip. "Maybe the telepathy wasn't that obvious."

Josef snorts. "Beth, everyone in the room who is older than you," he sighs. "And I know it upsets you, but that's pretty much everyone, could feel it when you threw your power at Mandy. It was clear you blew right through her shields. You don't have the age or skill to hide what you are doing. Gunnar was almost to the parking lot when he felt it. They would have to be sense blind to not know you're a telepath."

Beth sighs, she knows Josef is right. Hank warned her of the consequences of using her power in public. She was so angry all his warnings forgotten.

"There's something else." He says.

Beth drops her head and looks at her toes, dreading whatever else he has to say. "What?"

"Most vampires can't change just certain parts of themselves like their hands without going full vampire, at least not until they are older. You've change just your hands twice, both times when you've been upset. When things calm down some time in the next few days I'd like you to try it again, when you're not completely ready to disembowel someone." He idly wonders if this is genetic as her father can change into a wolf in a heartbeat, far younger than he should be able to.

Beth hears the snark in his voice but she can't find the humor. "Okay."

He realizes he's not doing a very good job of lightening the mood. He cups her face. "Don't worry. It's going to be all right." He feels Beth's emotional rollercoaster and knows at least one thing that will help. "Let's worry about the fallout later. Right now you need to feed." He motions to a raven haired freshie who is moving through the crowd. She nods as he makes a hand signal to her. Beth watches as she disappears. "What did you tell her?"

Josef grins. "I told her to go and get a male and come back." He looks questioningly at Beth's apprehension. He knows she's hungry, and suspects part of the reason she lost her temper. "What's the matter?"

Beth knew this was coming and she'd have to face it sooner or later. This will be one more reason for Josef to be upset with her. "When I come here with Mick we don't….drink direct…in public."

Josef's eyes narrow. "Because?"

Beth shrugs, not looking up at him. "Because in the beginning I wasn't comfortable with it and I guess we've sort of gotten in the habit of going upstairs to a private room."

Josef makes up his mind right that minute that he and Beth have been spending too much time apart as of late and that has to change right now. "Are you still bothered by the idea of feeding in front of others?"

"A little." She answers as she looks up and sees Andy, one of the male freshie's she's fed from before, following the girl Josef motioned to a moment earlier. "But it's time I got over it."

Josef nods. "Good. You do not however have to drink from his neck if you don't want to." He wants to push her but not too hard.

Beth nods. "Next time I'll do it from the neck."

"Yes, next time." Josef gently takes her chin in his hand and turns her face to him. "And there will be a next time."

She can tell he's mad. She's not sure if he's mad at her, himself or Mick. "Josef this is my doing."

He smiles at her. "Yes, and it will be my undoing."

Andy sits next to her in the booth. "Hi Beth, what would you like?"

Beth sighs and slides her fangs into Andy's wrist before he can comment further. Josef watches a moment and sees the confusion on the freshie's face. Even he doesn't understand this switch to his wrist. Josef drinks from his freshie. Beth stops after a couple minutes.

Josef senses that she's still hungry but this is not the place to get into it with her. He smiles grimly. He has the next several hours to figure out how a woman who is so fearless one moment can be so jumpy the next.

xxxxxx

Beth watches Josef prowls the suite. As soon as they'd entered he had poured her a glass of blood and told her to drink up. She's sure he's still angry about her not wanting to feed at Jenny's in public, and yet something was bothering him long before he found that out. "Josef stay in one place and tell me what you're so angry about."

He loosens his tie and pours himself a drink. He's not sure where to start. He faces her, the anger in his eyes clear and bright. "I should never have let Vanessa push me into giving your training over to Hank."

This takes Beth by surprise. The last two people she expected him to drag into this, is Vanessa and Hank. Unless he's angry about what she did tonight in the club, but he said he wasn't. "Why? What I did tonight wasn't Hank's fault." she says confused.

"You and I don't spend enough time together." He stabs his finger at her. "And you spend too much time with other men."

She looks at him, in mounting confusion. This isn't like him at all. It's one thing for her to be jealous but he's so laid back, so sure of their feelings for each other, that he never gets upset about anything that doesn't put her in danger. "Josef is that why you said you needed to spend some time alone with me?" she asks, afraid she's not going to like the answer.

He snarls at her. "Yes."

"You're jealous." She says incredulously. "You said you could handle living this way. This was your idea." She can't believe it but he's actually jealous.

"I'm not jealous." He sneers. "I don't get jealous."

Bullshit she thinks, but keeps it to herself. "And I don't know what you've got to complain about. There are no men coming up to me, and propositioning me, in front of you."

He laughs coldly. "That's because there aren't any suicidal vampires in this town. Nobody is stupid enough to think because I share you with Mick that I would be willing to share with anyone else. I'd make short work of any male who became…. persistent." He narrows his eyes at her. "And if you think Mick is any different you are mistaken. He'd do the same. That white knight attitude of his only goes so far. Our vampires are territorial; don't doubt that for a minute. While we keep them in check with each other, we sure as hell aren't going to put up with anyone else."

"So what I did tonight to Mandy was acceptable." She says flatly.

"No." he snarls. "It's not the same thing."

Beth stares at him dumbfounded. "I think you've lost your damn mind." She knew there was something going on but this is not what she expected. "You've never acted like this. Most of the time you act as though you couldn't care less if I had half a dozen lovers."

He stalks towards her, eyes blazing, fangs extended. The sight of him would frighten most. As he moves in close to her she holds out her arm, palm facing out and pushes against his chest. "Stop."

"Or?" he snaps.

She narrows her eyes at him. "Josef you will tell me what the hell is going on and you will do it now."

He nods curtly at her. He starts ticking things off on his fingers. "Hank's teaching you how to make the most of your telepathic abilities. Mick wants to teach you to ride a motorcycle. You're teaching him to ride a horse. Mick taught you to defend yourself. The two of you work together. You get him birthday presents."

"Josef?" she reaches out to him and it hurts when he backs away from her.

Josef takes a step back from her and sees the pain in her eyes, but he notices it doesn't stop her as she takes another step closer to him. "Josef, stop. Beth continues. "You're birthday isn't until the solstice." She sees the surprise in his eyes and it makes her mad. "What? You thought we'd only celebrate Mick's birthday? Don't be an ass. I went to Vanessa because you are always so secretive, and asked her when your birthday is." Now she's working up some anger of her own. "Mick and I don't work together, it's just that sometimes our work overlaps. As you recall I wasn't in favor of being taught by Hank, it wasn't my idea, we agreed to keep Vanessa happy and I wasn't the only one who got Mick a birthday present. And you, you jerk, have given me something no one can ever top. You gave me this life."

He feels a bit foolish. "I don't know where this is coming from."

"Josef," she says softly. "It's because we haven't been spending any time together. We sleep together but as good as the sex is, it's not enough." She points at him. "And it's not all my fault. You work too much."

He nods, the anger leaking away. He moves over to the overstuffed couch and sinks down. "Come here."

She sits down facing him.

"I think that we're both right. I spend too much time working and not enough time in the community. You saw how they reacted to me tonight, like I was a stranger. It is not good to be too far from the people and territory you have responsibilities to watch over. Jenny's right. I don't get out enough."

"Josef, do you miss the life you had before I came along? Is that what this is about? Are you starting to resent me?" she asks

"Don't be ridiculous. I am not starting to resent you. There is no reason to. My life hasn't changed except that I love you." He says

"Yes, it has. You don't go out with a different woman every night; you don't spend all your free time in the clubs. Do you miss that?"

He snorts. "No," he trails off for a moment. "I don't miss it, but I need to become more visible in the community. I'm not Mick; I can't stay in the shadows. I have too many responsibilities to stay isolated." He glowers at Beth. "And you need better guidance than what you get from Mick." He holds up his hand. "I'm not mad at him but you and I both know he's never going to be the poster child for vampirism." Josef shakes his head. "Besides, of the two of us, I'm far more likely to push you to do the things you don't want to do. What I don't understand, is how you can be so fearless one minute and so timid the next."

"You're upset because I haven't been feeding in public when we're at Jenny's." She says

He wants to deny it but he can't. "Yes. You are not a wilting lily. You never hesitate to stand your ground. Good grief, look what you did to Mandy tonight. Why are you hiding in closets when it comes to feeding?"

Beth growls at him. "I am not hiding in closets. I just don't like people looking over my shoulder."

Josef shakes his head. "I have an idea that will accomplish many goals at once." He isn't sure how she will react to this but it has to be done. "Unless there is work that one of us absolutely cannot get out of, you and I now have a standing date every Friday night. At least two of those Friday nights will entail a club and some of those club dates will be at Jenny's where you will learn to feed in public. What do you think about that?" Josef says with a certainty that is more command than request.

"That's a great idea as long as it's more fun than tonight's been." She says dryly.

"You agree?" Josef asks suspiciously.

"I do. Josef, you get too wrapped up in your work and I think you're too busy to spend time with me so I withdraw farther into my work. This way, we get to spend time together and you're seen in the community."

She stands up. Her training with Hank has given her an idea she's thought about trying with Josef. She wanted to wait for his birthday but if it works she knows it will put his mind at ease. She smiles invitingly at him. "Now, you come here. I have an idea, something you'll like very much. It's your early birthday present"

**xxxxxxxxxxxx**

**As always comments are always welcome and encouraged. **


	9. Chapter 9

**Moonlight isn't mine and I have no claim on it or any desire to make a buck off it. These days it's a place I go to play.**

**This is an ongoing series. It started in 2008 with Rescued. This is the seventh installment. **

**The installments need to be read in order otherwise it will make no sense. **

**A/N: This is rated M for a reason.**

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxx**

_She smiles invitingly at him. "I have an idea, something you'll like. Call it an early birthday present."_

Josef knows that smile and he answers it with one of his own.

"I have an idea and I promise you'll like it." Beth says as she motions to him. "Come here."

He looks at her suspiciously but gets off the couch and comes to her. He stands in front of her and feels her hands as she runs them under his coat, and across his shoulders. His coat drops to the floor. He takes her hand to stop her but she shakes her head. "Trust me?"

"Yes, but…" he trails off.

"I want to strip you out of that stuffy suit." Beth says with a gleam in her eye and he watches his tie sail over her shoulder.

Josef shakes his head a smile on his lips. "You're driving me out of my mind. It's the only answer."

"Yes, but you love me anyway." She says as she finishes unbuttoning his shirt. "I love the feel of your skin." She says huskily as she slides his shirt off his shoulders.

Josef figures what's good for him must be good for her. He reaches for Beth with the intent of spinning her around and unzipping her dress. Beth backs up. "I'm not done yet." She reaches for his belt. He looks down and growls with hunger as she unbuckles his belt and unfastens his slacks.

"Oops forgot your shoes." She says.

Josef kicks off the shoes. "Forget the damn shoes." Before Beth can protest he's gotten rid of his slacks and boxers and socks. With speed she can't hope to match he pulls her into his arms. "Teasing me isn't going to help the situation."

She laughs softly. "I'm not."

"Uh huh."

"Now you can go sit down where you were." Beth says and points back at the couch.

"Do I get to watch you strip?" he asks with a sly smile.

She nods.

"Okay, then." He says and does as she requested and leans back watching her.

Since her dress is backless the zipper is a short one that starts at her waist. It's easy for her to get it down on her own.

Josef hears the zipper and watches as Beth lets the dress slide to a pool at her feet.

"I knew you weren't wearing any underwear." he sighs. "Now that I think about it, I'd like to strangle Mandy myself for interrupting us. You are so beautiful. Come here or I will come get you."

"Not yet. Now, you put both hands, palms down on the couch on either side of you and you don't move them." She sees him hesitate. "Josef, I need you to do this. You'll see why in a minute. Come one, I promise it will be worth it."

He takes a minute to calm his mind. "Alright but don't take too long or you'll find I don't have much will power unless there is a good reason for it."

Beth gets up on the couch next to him. She watches his hands as she moves to straddle him. Josef groans but his hands stay put. He can feel her heat covering his most sensitive parts; her breasts are at a most enticing level with his mouth. "What are you doing, trying to kill me?"

Beth takes her hands and puts them on each side of his head. "Josef, look at me." He looks up into her eyes and feels it, she enters his mind. Not in the usual way, not mind speak, but walks right past his shields and enters his mind. He can 'see' her in his mind, a thick cord of light running from her and disappearing into the darkness. "Now I'm going to let you do the same." She opens her mind to him and he flows into her. They are twined together, both in their own skins and each others. He can see the cord coiled around them. "How's the connection now?" Beth asks dropping her hands to her thighs.

"How did you do that?" he asks as he feels Beth's love for him surround him. "Even Vanessa can't do that."

Beth smiles at the wonder in his voice. "I distracted you. It wouldn't be possible if you were concentrating. It doesn't hurt that you trust me. You love Vanessa but you don't trust her, not the same way you do me."

Josef nods. "She's too powerful."

"And I'm not. Since I'm not dangerous to you, you let me sneak in. You turned me and we have a connection do you see it? It's always been there but now we're both more aware of it. It's more…"

"More, what?" he asks

Beth thinks about it for a moment. "More entwined. The only way it will lesson now is if one of us wills it and with enough concentration it can be partially cut, but because you are my sire there will always be some threads that can't be snapped."

"Can I move my hands now?" he asks.

"Yes."

Josef places a hand on either side of her head and mirror's Beth's movements from a moment ago. He looks deeply into her eyes. "Thank you for that." Josef suspects it's only something she can do with him but doesn't ask. If she's preformed the same act with Mick he doesn't want to know about it. He prefers to stay ignorant on this point and assume this is something between the two of them.

Beth keeps her face relaxed and happy. She knows what Josef is thinking; even if she wasn't inside him she could read it in his face. The truth is, what she did with Josef is something she can only do with him, so far. Someday when she has more experience she might be able to do it with Mick but not until she learns to handle her abilities better. The last thing she wants to do is hurt him. Josef's power is a form of telepathy and it meshes with her own. It doesn't hurt that the connection was already there. She and Mick have their bonds, but they are emotional bonds born of friendship and love. The bonds between her and Josef are that, but it also has a physical quality born of their blood exchange.

Josef slides his hands down Beth's body till they rest on her waste. He licks and nips at her breast. Beth arches to meet his mouth and while he doesn't exactly feel the act itself, he does feel Beth's pleasure in a way that he's never experienced from her or any other woman. Josef growls low in his chest. Their combined need and desire hits him hard. He continues laving at one breast and then the other, letting Beth's pleasure wash through him. Beth's fingers are tangled in his hair urging him to continue. His hands roam her body, feeling her soft skin. He cups her butt and stands all in one motion. Beth wraps her legs around his waist not wanting to lose their skin to skin contact. As he walks, he nips at the tender place between her neck and shoulder. Beth feels her breasts brushing against his chest as he walks; she feels his mouth on her neck and knows her orgasm isn't far off. "Josef, I need you."

Her body is taut against him and he can feel vampire talons piercing his back. Josef smiles as he hears the voice of her vampire. He lays her on the bed and lies down next to her. All he can think about is how it will feel to have her slick moist heat wrapped around him.

She looks deep into his eyes. "Josef, please now."

He feels her shutter with pleasure. "You feel it too." He growls out.

"Yes, Oh yes." Beth licks at his nipple and hears him moan. He begins to move inside her. Beth feels as her own pleasure but now she feels his as well and it's almost too much.

She meets him thrust for thrust as their combined frenzy hits its peak. She stiffens and archers her body. Josef growls and sinks his fangs into her neck sending them both into a swirl of rapture.

Josef lays his head down between her breasts. "I'm not moving."

Beth grins and looks down. "Ok."

He smiles up at her and gets up giving her a quick kiss. He rolls over and opens his arms to her.

She moves over and cuddles up next to him.

"Next Friday night should be a shopping date." He says with an evil grin

Beth groans. "Please tell me it's for something besides clothes."

Josef smirks at her. "If we're going clubbing twice a month you're going to need a lot more clothes."

Beth shakes her head. "There was a time when I enjoyed shopping." She sits up and points at him. "You're going to owe me."

He reaches out and plays with a lock of her hair. "What do you have in mind?"

Laughing she moves to straddle him. "I'll think of something."

**xxxxxxxx**

Jean looks down at Mandy sleeping in her bed. She's a tasty treat. He'd gotten as much information as he could out of her. She didn't have more information about Beth except what she'd heard around town, but she did give him a couple names of people to check with who might know more. He straightens his tie and puts on his jacket. For the moment he's going back to his room at the Four Seasons and get some sleep but tonight he's going to see quite a bit more of Los Angeles. As he locks Mandy's door and walks down to his car he flips out his phone and calls Lance. Thankfully he's gets Lance's voice mail. "I'm on my way back to the hotel. I haven't found out anything yet but I'll do some more digging tonight." He hangs up and smiles as he begins to plot out how this is going to benefit him the most.

Lance scowls at the voice mail. He knows Jean is up to something he just doesn't know what. Jean's never been able to hide his emotions very well and he sounds far too pleased with himself. On the other hand Lance knows how much his brother likes women and if he's been out in the clubs looking for information, odds are he's found more than information. As for Lance, he hasn't had any luck trying to trace Mason or Jelena. He knew Mason had extra I.D.'s he didn't know about but he didn't care because he never thought Mason would have the guts to try to hide from him. Lance snorts. He found Remi all those times he hid from him and he'll find Mason. He has to do it before he and Jelena get to Josef.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Mason looks across the seat at Jelena as they switch seats. It's almost dawn and it's her turn to drive. "We should be in L.A. sometime over night, maybe four or five. We'll decide then whether to go right to Josef's or wait till the next evening."

"Good. Now go to sleep. I'll wake you when it's your turn to drive." Jelena says as she starts the SUV and pulls back onto I5.

Xxxxxxxxxxx

_The next afternoon_

Beth sighs as and looks down into her drink. She snorts as she wonders what Josef would say about the rotgut in her glass. She glances around the run down bar, never letting her eyes land on anyone in particular. She wants the inhabitants to understand she's paying attention to what's going on around her without challenging or enticing anyone. The last thing she wants is one of these creeps thinking she's vulnerable or looking for action. She glances up at the clock behind the bar. Five o'clock, she can't believe she's only been here for three hours.

Whoever decorated this dump decided putting movie posters on the walls would be the thing to liven up the place. Beth suspects from their randomness, that the posters are more than decor that they are covering holes in the wall from punches that missed their targets or worse blood stains. When she came in here the combined smell of vomit, stale blood and urine almost knocked her over.

She knew it was going to be difficult to blend into the surroundings, not being a drunk or a drug addled tweeker but she at least dressed the part. Wearing dirty jeans, a strategically torn t-shirt and scuffed tennis shoes. The clothes are left over from when she lived alone and had to do her own cleaning. Her hair is a mess and her makeup is way over done, like she is trying to hide a bad parlor, when in fact she is trying to hide soft flawless skin that most women would kill for. Beth sighs, she does that a lot in here, everyone does. She looks hopelessly into her drink. She hopes it's worth it.

Her target isn't even the bar; it's the brick structure across the street. Long ago, an honest business fixing cars, it went downhill with the neighborhood. At last count it had changed seven times in the last ten years. With each new owner its value and customer base slid father and father down. When Beth did her background check on the business she found that the present owner on paper is Tina Bass but the real owner is her husband, Leonard Bass, known to one and all as Crazy Lenny.

She wonders how mad Josef and Mick are going to be when she tells them she's not coming home tonight. She motions to the bar tender and he eyes her warily.

"Who do I see about a room?" she asks

He tips his head considering her request. She's not a regular and there's something not quite right about her but no one in the room is quite right. Beth slides a ten dollar bill across the bar; glancing around to make sure no one is paying too close attention to her.

He snatches the money up. "Its fifty bucks a night and you don't make no noise. If you use the room to turn tricks I get a cut."

"Forty." She says grimly, glad that he thinks she's a hooker. "Two nights paid up front."

He nods and calls to the young woman cleaning tables. "Anita, show this lady up to number six. The keys are on the rack in back."

Wordlessly Anita motions for Beth to follow her.

xxxxxx

Josef smiles as the eight ball falls into the pocket. "Another game?"

"First I need to apologize for intruding on you and Beth last night." Tucker says. His mind keeps coughing up the image of Josef's snarling fury at Tucker's unintentional interruption of Josef and Beth's tryst in the front hallway.

Josef shakes his head. "Don't worry about it. You did the right thing. As long as you turn and leave you won't get hurt. Territorial vampires can be far more dangerous than we mean to be. Now, how about another game?"

"Can you turn off all your extra sense?" When Josef snorts to stifle his laughter, Tucker grins. "I didn't think so. No, I've taken enough of a beating for one night. Wait till I join the tribe and we'll try again."

Josef shakes his head. "Mick's just under a hundred and he's finally winning about a third of the games we play. I played pool with him a couple of times when he was human." Josef smirks. "And he has more natural talent for the game than you do. He instinctively knows what shots to take, while still managing to leave me in a position where I have little to work with when it's my turn. He's good at visual strategy."

Tucker scowls. "Thanks loads."

Josef holds up his hand. "On the flip side you're a better poker player than Mick was when he was human. Now that's a game that will make a difference when you're turned. Both you and Mick are good at reading people but it wasn't instinctual with Mick when he was human like it is with you. If it had been, he might have gotten clear of Coraline unscathed. He had to learn it later on and he relies heavily on his senses. You won't have to; you already know what to look for. You're also good at hiding your tells, but as a human, even you can't keep your heart beat from jumping." Josef taps his chest. "a hair when you fill an inside straight. After you're turned you'll be a lot tougher for me to know when you're holding a good hand."

Tucker shakes his head. "No wonder Kaida told me it wasn't a good idea to play poker with the three of you."

Josef smiles. "Like I said, you're good at hiding your tells. I'm sure it's from the work you do. You're system takes on adrenaline as a matter of course so it doesn't show so much when you get a good hand. I can tell that Beth can't read you by the way she plays and Mick about half the time." Josef laughs. "Now that I've told you what's going on, I expect you'll be even better at keeping things under control."

Tucker nods. "I'll have to give it some thought." Tucker moves over to the side board and pours himself a shot of bourbon. "Can I pour you one?"

Josef nods. "Yes, but make mine half and half."

Tucker smiles and nods. After living in this house with Josef, Beth and Mick for the last six weeks pouring a half Bourbon half blood doesn't even faze him. "Josef, how much longer do you think I'll have to wait for her to turn me? I'm ready."

Josef takes his drink and sits heavily on the couch. He takes a sip mulling over the best way to explain so a human might understand. "It's not about you. One thing about having the two of you living here with us I've been able to gauge whether you'll make it as a vampire." Josef holds his drink up in a small toast to Tucker. "You're like I was, no second thoughts at all."

"You think she's having second thoughts, maybe about taking on the responsibility?" Tucker asks

"No, she wants you turned as much as you want to be. The problem is she's still scared she'll screw it up. Even with Mick and I to back her up she's scared. The best thing to do is let it go for now. I can tell she's working it out in her head she's not quite there yet. Kaida feeding in front of you was a big step in the right direction. Is she drinking from you yet?"

Tucker's smile widens. "Yes, she is. I'm not sure what Mick said to her, but she came home the other night from seeing him and we made that last step."

"What I told her," Mick says from the doorway, "Is the same thing Josef told me when I worried I'd hurt Beth."

Josef smiles. "See what happens when people actually listen to me?"

"I'll give you points on this one." Mick agrees. Mick tips his head and studies Josef for a moment. "Why do you look so pleased with yourself?" Mick he nods to himself. "You and Beth worked out your problems."

Josef can't help but looking a little pleased. "Yes, we worked a few things out." Then he frowns; remembering Beth and Mandy's altercation. "But there are other problems, we had an incident." He says trying to lessen his own worry.

Mick narrows his eyes at Josef knowing he's not going to like what Josef has to tell him.

"Sit, I need to tell you what happened and how you and I can make things better."

"Do you want me to leave?" Tucker asks

Josef shakes his head. "No. You're fine." Josef turns to Mick and explains to him what Beth did to Mandy, that every vampire in the community now knows Beth is a telepath. "From what Beth said it's not so much that she's jealous, she knows we both love her, it's more about how lousy some of these women treat her. I've seen some of the females ignore her but this was plain meanness. Mandy pushed it pretty far and she was blatant. If I'd seen anyone treating her like that before I would have made my displeasure known. Have you seen anything like that?"

Mick shakes his head. "No, but Mandy's been getting bolder all the time. We've never had any problems anywhere but at Jenny's. I almost said something to Mandy last time but I was afraid Beth would get mad because she wants to fight her own battles."

"Fighting her own battles is one thing but we need to be more diligent in making sure no one sees our silence as acquiescence." Josef says. "Beth is also right, until now they assumed because she was so young there was nothing she could do about it."

Mick snorts. "It sounds like she's changed a few minds on that score. Mandy is what, about a hundred years older than Beth?"

Josef nods. "At least, but you'd of never known it last night."

Mick shakes his head. "One of Beth's protections has always been that our enemy's would underestimate her. That isn't going to be the case any longer."

Josef nods in agreement. "I have two worries after what happened last night. One that I'm not sure Beth wouldn't have done some real damage if people she trusted weren't there to talk her down. I don't give a damn about Mandy but Beth would have regretted it later if she'd done any permanent damage to Mandy's mind. Secondly, if Lance or anyone else wants or needs a telepath Beth becomes a target. She's dangerous but not powerful enough to go up against the older members of the tribe."

"We could tag her." Mick says only half kidding.

When Josef meets his comment with silence Mick shakes his head. "I won't do it unless we ask her and she agrees."

"I know, I'll give it some thought, try to find a way to present it in a way she might agree."

"Good luck with that." Mick says.

"Hey back to me." Tucker says

Both men turn to him. "What about you?" Mick asks. "We solved your problem. Kaida is drinking from you."

"Yes, but as good as that is, when do you think she'll want to turn me?"

"What's the rush?" Josef asks

"She's gotten so paranoid about me dying she's become so over protective it's a little stifling. If I'm a vampire we can go back to living our lives."

Josef snorts. "Talk to Beth. She'll give you an ear full about over protective vampire lovers. Mick drives her crazy."

Laughing Mick asks. "And you don't?"

Josef looks into his glass for a moment then he looks up with a matching smile. "Never."

Both men laugh.

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**Comments always welcomed and encouraged.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Moonlight isn't mine and I have no claim on it or any desire to make a buck off it…..**

**These days it's a place I go to play…**

**This is an ongoing series. It started in 2008 with Rescued. This is the seventh installment. The installments need to be read in order otherwise it will make no sense. **

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Beth grimly looks around the shabby room. When she first got the tip that led to her researching this story she thought she could move in and out of the neighborhood pretty seamlessly. Once she got here this afternoon it became apparent that the area locals are suspicious of any strangers. There is no way she will get any information without moving into the neighborhood and looking like anyone else who's sliding down the wrong side of life.

The room she rented is about what she expected. A table that has more names carved into the top than a bus station bathroom, two chairs, one with a lose leg and a fold out bed that Beth swears she won't touch with a ten foot pole. She knows she has to unfold it at some point, even if she doesn't sleep in it. It has to at least look like she's using the bed in case someone decides to search her room. She snorts as she looks at the door lock. It wouldn't take but a few minutes for even a human to get it open, never mind thinking about how many copies of the key is floating around. Then there are the bars on the single window. It would be comforting if you were trying to keep people out, but all Beth sees is a barrier that will slow her down if she needs to leave in a hurry. In one corner there is a hot plate and a small refrigerator. The girl, who showed her to the room, informed her that if she sets off the legally mandated smoke alarm, even once, the hot plate will disappear. The last thing the owner of the building needs is trouble with the fire department. If that isn't enough the broken down dirty little refrigerator in the corner looks like it stopped working sometime in the seventy's. Beth scowls as she blames her inability to live in this squalor on Josef. She laughs quietly and shakes her head at any thought or complaint that she could ever have about living in the lap of luxury with the two most wonderful men she's ever met.

Beth jumps as a door bangs shut on the floor above her. It's not that it frightened her, there isn't a person in the building she couldn't make mince meat out of, it's that undercover work is a little more involved and a touch scary. She's done a lot of crime reporting over the years but for some reason, little of it involved going undercover. The closest she came was getting into Lola's club, and even then she had Mick as a backup.

The one good thing about the room is that it faces the building across the street. Someone is running one of the city's premier chop shops out of it and she wants to be the one to break the story. She'd started this when one of her police contacts had mentioned that there are a greater number of cars being stolen and the parts are showing up on the black market. Beth started visiting her 'contacts' which consist of snitches that's she's cultivated over the last several years. One thing she hadn't counted on was word had gotten around that she is living with Josef Kostan and the price of information doubled. In retrospect she guesses should have seen it coming. It was one thing when she was an internet reporter' but word gets around even though she's tried to stay under the radar. She shakes her head as she realizes it's the price of doing business, and it's not like she can't afford it. That doesn't mean she's going to be taken advantage of either. She doesn't mind spreading some of the wealth if the information is good. That's how she came to be sitting in a seedy neighborhood. Across the street is a cinder block building with graffiti covering the walls, the ground littered with broken bottles, busted pallets and used tires. Her plan is to spend the nights watching the building to see if she can get any further leads.

Her contacts tell her they specialize in parts for all the most exotic cars. In a rich city like Los Angeles, this can mean millions. One of the people she talked to for background on her story was Jack, the mechanic who maintains Josef's collection of cars. She replays the conversation in her mind.

"Jack, do you sometimes buy black market parts for Josef's cars?" She asks him shyly.

He shakes his head and looks at her like she'd lost her mind. "Josef would kill me. I would never knowingly put a black market part in any of his cars."

"Why? I mean besides the fact that it's illegal. Josef doesn't let that stand in his way when he wants something."

"Because it's stupid." Josef says from behind her.

She whirls around. "How do you do that? Nobody else can sneak up on me but you." she asks. She eyes Jack. "and how did you know I was down here?"

Josef snorts but doesn't answer her question. He doesn't want to tell her that everyone can sneak up her but the rest of the people in her life are nicer that he is. He also doesn't tell her Jack has standing orders to signal Josef through an alarm set to signal his phone if Beth shows up in the garage for anything but her own car. She would be furious to say the least but her track record of using his cars to wreak havoc in their lives is well known and Josef would like to head her off at the pass. He sees Jack hide a smile from behind Beth's back.

"First off, I resent the implication that I break the law on a regular basis." Josef says as he crosses his arms and leans against the door jamb.

Beth smiles. "You don't fool me. I know about the tar pits."

Josef shakes his head. "That's different. If I take the extreme step of removing someone, it's for a damn good reason and I'm careful it can't come back on me. Trading in black market anything is asking to have the cops at your front door searching you and your property, and that is the last thing I want, the last thing we need. In addition, I want my cars in tip top shape and most black market parts, while usually in top shape are not new, are not pristine. Why would I put used anything in my cars and risk coming to the attention of the police to save money?"

Beth nods. "Ok, I see your point but there are a lot of people out there that don't have your security concerns."

"Or are stupid enough to think they'll never get caught." Josef adds.

"Agree. But this must be a real money maker for someone?" Beth asks both men.

Jack nods. "I'm sure it is." he points to the new Ferrari Josef just bought. "Almost any part on this vehicle can cost thousands of dollars to replace. If Mr. Kostan were the kind of owner to take it to a second rate repairman, he could buy the parts off the black market but charge Mr. Kostan full price and make himself a nice profit."

"Which is why, Jack has the Ferrari and any other of the newer cars taken to the best dealers in town for maintenance and repairs. They all know what I expect and that I don't mind paying for the best. I make sure the penalties of cheating me are well known." Josef flashes his fangs and smiles coldly.

"I thought you did most of the work on the cars." Beth says to Jack.

Jack shakes his head. "The new cars are all too advanced and need specialized tools. The antiques," Jack smiles widely. "Those are my specialty. I can take care of anything older than late seventies from top to bottom and I would never buy black market parts. I may have to go a long way to get good solid parts for some of these old beauties but I would never use the black market. Like Mr. Kostan says, it's too risky."

Beth hears another door slam somewhere in the building and sighs. She's going to have to tell Mick and Josef that she's gotten a room and she's decided to stay. To say they are not going to be happy is an understatement.

Xxxxxx

Emily dabs at her tears and looks up at Robert. "You don't think he'll be mad?"

Robert shakes his head and holds her. "No. If I thought he'd be mad I wouldn't let you do this but I've known Josef a long time. He won't be mad." _At least not at you._ "You could let me take care of this if you're this worried. I hate to see you so upset."

Emily shakes her head. "No, I owe him this, to talk to him myself."

"All right but I'm going with you. He's in playing pool with Tucker and I think Mick just got home."

Emily relaxes a tiny bit, knowing Mick won't let Josef do anything rash.

Josef looks up as Emily enters the room. He narrows his eyes when he sees the state she's in. He was right about something being off when he saw her with Beth the other day. It seems he's about to find out what the problem is. Mick smells the tears, and he also narrows his eyes. Josef motions for her to come to him. He pats the seat next to him and Emily follows his direction as she's done for so many years. Josef looks at the tears and smiles gently. He brushes her raven hair away from her face. "Em? Tell me who to kill."

Mick grunts in agreement.

From his place at the sideboard Tucker watches the scene unfold. He's a little uncomfortable. He'd like to leave, but Robert is still in the doorway so there is no escape.

Emily bursts into tears and Josef opens his arms, and she cries on his shoulder. Josef looks up at Robert expecting anything but what he sees. Robert is watching Emily and Josef and even though he's trying not to show it, Josef can tell he's on the verge of vamping out. For a moment Josef doesn't understand, and he realizes what he's seeing is a male vampire who's seeing his woman in someone else's arms.

Mick sees the surprise on Josef's face and switches his gaze to Robert. He sees the same thing Josef does and his surprise mirrors Josef's.

Josef feels Emily getting her tears under control. He hands her a handkerchief, and she grimaces as she sees the makeup coming off on the white linen. "This is never going to come out." she says with a hiccup.

"Em it's a handkerchief, not a sacred text." He puts his finger under her chin and brings her eyes up. "Now why don't you tell me what this is about?"

She nods. "I...I don't want you to be mad. You've been so good to me. I'm so afraid you won't understand. It's not like we planned it or anything."

Josef smiles kindly at her. "You're in love with Robert?"

She nods. "Yes, Josef please don't hurt him. We haven't...taken this very far, we just want a chance to see where it will go and I guess I want your blessing."

Josef watches her. "Em, when was the last time someone fed from you?"

"It's been years. Except for when Beth was too scared to feed from a live donor and needed someone experienced. Other than a couple times with Beth it's been years. You took me out of rotation when I started watching out for the girls and that's been what, five or six years ago? Not since then."

"Good. That's good." He says softly. He glances at Robert and sees the hunger in his eyes and Josef knows so far Robert has kept himself from tasting her as well. "Em, I think that if you and Robert can be happy together that's wonderful. I'm not mad."

"But what if..." she tails off not wanting to voice her real fear.

"But what if it works out and Robert wants to turn you?" he asks

Emily nods.

Josef smiles. "I guess we'll have to find someone to take over for you. Em, don't worry about it. We'll cross that bridge if we come to it. Now, why don't you go upstairs and" he wrinkles her nose at her. "and see if you can't do something about the makeup." She stands up and begins to move towards Robert. Josef clears his throat. "Robert a minute."

Emily turns and looks at Josef, fear in her eyes again. She knows from Josef's tone this was not a request.

"Em, I promise. I just want to talk to him for a minute." she nods hesitantly and looks to Robert. He tenderly kisses her forehead. "Go. Do as he says. I'll be a long."

Emily nods and leaves the room. Robert and Josef stand very still waiting for the sounds of her to fade. They both know that whatever is said from this point on is not for her ears. Once they hear her leave the main part of the house Josef takes two quick steps towards Robert. The two men are nose to nose. Josef is calm and collected and completely vamped out. Robert pushes his vampire down. The last thing that needs to happen is for him to challenge Josef's authority.

Josef holds up a finger. "Damn it. Beth is in my head." He looks at Mick who nods. "Yea, I hear her too."

_Mick, Josef?_

_I'm here._ Mick answers.

_Give me a minute. I'm thinking of killing someone_. Joseph chimes in.

Beth rolls her eyes and waits. _Who?_

_Robert_. Josef bites back.

_Josef please calm down and give them a chance. _

_You knew about this?_

_Of course. Em is my friend._

Josef smiles to himself. _And you wouldn't mind at all if she joined the tribe._

_Josef that has nothing to do with it. I know she wants a chance to see if she and Robert can be happy together._ Beth admonishes him.

_Robert and Emily. __Mick says__ Who would have of guessed?_

Beth laughs lightly. _Yes. Robert and Emily._

Josef smiles as he realizes he wasn't the only one taken by surprise. Mick was clueless as well.

_All right. What's going on and where are you? Don't you have an appointment with Hank tonight?_ Josef asks

_Josef, let her talk._ Mick knows she's on a story and if she's not home yet there might be trouble.

_I'm not coming home for a few days_. She rushes on before they can interrupt her. _I'm on a story and if I'm going to learn any more I have to stay in the area. It would look too weird if I tried to move in and out. No one is going to tell me anything if I don't look like I belong._

She hears Josef growl in her mind. _Of the two of them he has the least patients for her brushes with bad guys. _

_Where are you?_ He asks.

Beth winces and tells them.

Beth stays quiet as Josef digests this information.

_Josef? _

_How are you going to feed? You can't keep blood in a place like that, if there is even refrigeration. _

_There's a vamp bar not far from here. I'm sure I can slip away for a drink when I need it_. Beth says

_Brady's?_ Mick asks

_Yes, Brady's. I'll go in and have something at the bar._

_No. You won't. I'll call Adam Brady and he will have something good, clean and ready for you every day, when you go over there. He owes me more than one favor._

Not for the first time Josef is thankful that Mick has contacts in some suspect places. _You need to feed every day. If Mick can set it up, take advantage of it._

_Alright. __Hoping that's the end of it, but of course it's not as Josef continues__. You've got one week and then I want you home for at least one week._

_That's not going to be enough time. I'm going to need at least a couple weeks. __Beth says_

_Beth, you will be back in here in one week. You're staying in a rundown apartment made for humans. There is no freezer, not even a place where you could sleep on ice. You are too young to go without a freezer for very long. One week, and I will come and get you myself, and I will blow your cover sky high. So either you figure out a plausible reason for your departure or you finish this thing._

_Damn it Josef._

_Tough. It's not even about how much I hate what you're doing. It's about your health and I won't bargain with you on that. I don't bluff, so you better figure something out. Now is this concerning what you and Jack talked about?_

_Yes._

_Is this the last story that Logan and Ryder cleared?_

_Yes. They did some digging in the community and couldn't find any vamps dealing in high end parts. If their involved their staying low._

_Fine but I want to hear from you once a day and if there are any hints that vampires are involved you contact Mick and me right away._

_All right. I love you both. _

_I know baby. _Josef says, and he is gone from the conversation.

_Mick?_

_Let me get this straight, you went in there thinking you could move in and out? What about your car? Where did you leave it?_

_I left my car home and took a bus in here so no one would see the Prius. That would blow my cover in a heartbeat. I got a room and I'll be fine._

_Right._ He says flatly

_What does that mean?_

_Never mind. Josef's right. Contact us once a day and don't forget to tell Hank._

_Mick? _She can tell he's got something on his mind, but he's not going to tell her a damn thing until he's ready.

_Love you._ He says, and he's gone.

Beth sits in her room and scowls. The two of them can be so infuriating at times.

Robert stands, still motionless. He knows Beth always gets Josef and Mick's full attention. Tucker smiles as Josef and Mick both snarl. Whatever Beth's telling them, they are not happy about it.

Josef's attention focuses back and Robert. He continues as if there had never been any interruption. "If you fuck this up, if you hurt Emily, I will feed you, your heart one bite at a time." Josef says.

"And I'll help." Mick adds

Robert nods. "I'd expect no less, but mind you, don't fucking hug my woman again." Robert snarls as his vampire pushes to come out.

Josef nods and leans against the pool table. The tense moment over, he's made his point. "How long has this been going on? You're not sleeping with her or drinking from her, that I would have noticed."

Robert sighs and moves to the sideboard to pour himself a drink. "It started two years ago." He looks at Josef helplessly. "And it won't go away. At first I thought it was natural protectiveness because she's been with us so long, but I realized I was falling for her." he rubs his hand through his hair. "I kept waiting for it to diminish and it keeps getting worse and worse. Shit Josef. I'm not falling in love with her. I'm in love with her."

"I hope so. I'm glad nobody's been feeding from her that last few years." Josef says.

Robert nods. "Me too. I'd of killed someone by now."

Josef laughs again and claps Robert on the shoulder. "Drink up and go find her, so she knows I'm not mad. I want her to be happy. She should know that."

Robert moves towards the door. "She does know that, it's why she was so worried. She was afraid you wouldn't agree, for fear that what she wants won't make her happy."

"It better." Josef says and snaps his fangs at Robert.

Once Robert is gone, Josef turns to Tucker. Normally he would have asked Tucker to leave when Josef realized where his conversation with Robert was going, but he meant it when he said he wanted Tucker to know what it's like to live with vampires. He needs to know all the little oddities that come with being one, and living with humans. He also knows that this relationship mirrors Tucker's and Kaida's and it's a good way for him to see it from the outside. Josef can feel Tucker's questions wanting to be asked. "Ask"

Tucker thinks about the couple's revelation and frowns. "Why did you ask Emily if anyone's been feeding from her? It wasn't about Robert going around killing any male who touched her, although he wasn't happy about her crying on her shoulder."

Josef lays his head back and looks at the ceiling thinking about the past. He looks at Tucker thoughtfully for a moment. "Emily is twenty eight years old. She's lived in this house for fourteen years."

Tucker narrows his eyes at Josef but keeps quiet.

Mick snorts waiting to see if Tucker is stupid enough to accuse Josef of accosting a child.

Josef notes Tucker's reaction and waits a beat. When Tucker stays silent Josef is glad Tucker is smart enough to keep his thoughts to himself until he hears the whole story. "I do not as a habit have children in the house. Emily is the only child who's ever lived with me, hell she's the only minor I've ever had under my roof. I, nor any of my staff, or guests, or anyone else who didn't want to find their head on a pike at the gate, ever fed from her until she was a freshie, and that didn't happen until she was twenty years old."

Tucker smiles, visibly relaxing.

"Really Tucker. Do I seem to you like someone who feeds from children?" Josef says with disgust.

Tucker shrugs. "No, but in four hundred years you can't tell me you haven't tried just about everything."

Josef nods. "Point taken. However, one thing that has remained standard in my four hundred years is that I like women, grown women. In blood and body there are many things a child cannot give me that I want very much." Josef smirks.

"Go on." Tucker says

"Take away the six years that Emily was here but not a freshie, and the last five or six years she's been responsible for the girls, and that means she was a freshie for four years. I limit the time the girls are in rotation for one simple reason, the feedings can be addictive, you should know that from Kaida feeding from you. If she felt like this and was an active freshie I would have worried that what was she was feeling for Robert was more about the feeding than a real relationship. Since it's been five years since she's been feeding anyone that's not a problem."

Tucker's watches Josef and nods smiling to himself. "Yes, I can easily see how it could be addictive."

Josef smirks at him. "It's that good." Josef laughs "and as good as that is, it's will be even better once Kaida turns you."

"Shit." he says in awe.

Xxxxxxxxx

**This was kind of an odd place to stop but it was getting too long.**

**As always comments are always welcome and encouraged! **


	11. Chapter 11

**Moonlight isn't mine and I have no claim on it or any desire to make a buck off it. These days it's just a place I go to play…**

**This is an ongoing series. It started in 2008 with Rescued. This is the seventh installment. The installments need to be read in order otherwise it will make no sense. **

**A/N: This is kind of short but it was either that or the last one was going to be way too long. **

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Tucker thinks of another question. "Why did you threaten to feed Robert his heart? He's been with you, what two hundred years?"

"One of the problems with human, vampire relationships is that one party, usually the vampire, has so much experience with life that it can be one sided. Any vampire who enters a relationship with a human has the ability to destroy the human. Sometimes vampires can be fools and it can work the other way around but not often. It's what Coraline almost did to Mick." Josef glances at Mick who's scowling at him. "It's one of the many reasons everyone always got the 'human, vampire relationships don't work' lecture from me. I've seen more than one vampire decimate a human's life because they didn't take into account that humans live such a short time and want different things out of a relationship. I questioned Robert to make sure that he had his head on straight and this wasn't just ennui that will pass and leave Emily in a bad place. Robert is old enough to recognize his feelings for her. I threatened him because she's one of mine. It won't matter if they make this work or not, if he turns her or not, Emily will always be one of mine and I take my role as her guardian seriously."

Josef continues "This is the same reason that I didn't get in Kaida's face when I found out about you a few years ago. I didn't think it would be real...I kept thinking you'd disappear from her life. I misjudged that so I had to make sure I wasn't doing the same thing here." Josef smiles, "In the two hundred years I've known Robert he's never been in this state over a woman, let alone a human."

Tucker wonders at Josef's choice of the word guardian to describe his relationship to Emily. "Guardian?"

Josef waves his hand dismissively. "It's just a turn of phrase."

But Tucker hears Mick snort and knows there is more to it. Josef looks at Mick annoyed as Tucker leans forward. "Come on Josef; tell me how you ended up with a fourteen year old girl living in a house with vampires and freshies."

Mick grins. "I've lived this story so I'm going to check on Beth."

"Good." Josef says. "Do you have a plan?"

"Of course. She won't like it but if I present it in person she will go along with it."

Xxxxxxxxxx

From her room above the bar Beth watches the young male leave through the back door of the chop shop. He looks somewhat familiar but for the life of her she can't imagine where she would have come in contact with the young man. She thinks back trying to remember if he worked for the mechanic she took her car to or another outside service she uses, but where ever it was she just has no recollection of where she's seen him.

Billy leaves the chop shop and tucks his money into his jeans pocket. He scans the area around him and ducks into the alley. The last thing he needs is to be spotted by the wrong people. Daniel will kill him if he finds out Billy is running errands for the guys in this shop. Daniel means well, but his alpha just can't help him earn the money he needs. Billy turns back to the doorway when he hears someone calling his name. "Yes?"

"You want to earn more cash come back around two. One of my night guys is sick. You can relieve Dale at two." Lenny says.

Billy nods slowly. He knows he can sneak out and be back here in plenty of time. "How much more?" he asks. It's always good to get everything up front with these guys.

Lenny grunts. The kid's learning. "Two hundred a night but you and the other two guys make damn sure no one gets in and you stay awake."

Billy nods once. "Got it. I'll be back at two."

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Mick stands in the shadows against the brick wall. He glances down at his watch and frowns. He wishes for once Logan would show up on time. He hears Logan's van before he ever sees it. He steps out of the shadows and stands behind the Benz. Logan parks the van behind him and pops out of the van. "Where are we going?"

"We are going to see Beth. She's working undercover and you need to know where she's at, because tomorrow you are going to visit her and pretend to be her brother."

Logan thinks about Beth for a moment and smiles. "Couldn't I pretend to be her boyfriend?"

Mick lets out a low growl. "Guess not." Logan hunches his shoulders and mumbles in reply.

"As I was saying. You'll visit her and when she refuses to come home you'll sigh in recognition and give her some things I want her to have. I'd go in myself but I'm afraid someone will recognize me and figure out who she is. I've helped put a few of the people in that area in jail and I may not be as anonymous as I'd like."

"Why don't you just give her the stuff tonight?" Logan asks

"Because I think this will reinforce the image she's trying to project to the locals."

A sudden thought strikes Logan. "Has she agreed to this?"

"Not yet, but she will."

Beth's head snaps up as she senses a vampire, no two vampires close. She faces the window prepared for anything when she hears a tap at the window and realizes its Mick on the fire escape. She wonders what he thinks he's doing. She slides the window up and pears through the bars. "What are you doing?" she says in a hushed angry voice.

He smiles. "I could bend these." he says and tests the bars.

"Not without the noise waking the dead." she snaps back. "Mick if you give me away, I'm going to be so mad at you."

"No one's going to see us." He motions to the surrounding darkness. "I put out the street light with a rock. In this neighborhood no one will notice the difference."

Beth huffs at him. "I repeat, what are you doing here, and who's that with you?"

"It's Logan." Mick says

Beth looks behind him and Logan smiles and waves.

She rolls her eyes and waves back. Then she turns her attention back to Mick."I repeat, What. Are. You. Doing. Here?"

"I just wanted to tell you to expect a visit from your brother." Mick says

"My brother? My brothers are five years old! What the hell are you talking about? Angie wouldn't bring the boys here." Beth growls

Mick smiles. "Not your actual brother, your brother Logan. He's going to come and visit you tomorrow and beg you to come home."

Beth hits her forehead. "You're going to send Logan to see me? Are you crazy?" She looks around Mick at Logan. "No offense."

He shrugs but she sees a little hurt in his eyes and feels bad.

Mick wants to laugh at her distress but he's afraid she'd shove him off the ledge. "No, of course not. He's going to come to see you tomorrow, beg you to come home and when you refuse he's going to give you a sleeping bag and other things you can use." Mick looks behind her at the room in distaste. "Tell me you wouldn't like to have a clean place to sleep."

Beth sighs. "You're right. I would like some provisions." She looks at Logan again. "If you can pull this off it's good strategy...but if you screw this up, I'm going to be so mad at you two." she glares at Mick.

"He won't." Mick says quickly. "I'd come myself but I'm afraid someone might recognize me and put two and two together and get Beth Turner."

"Alright. I'll be in my room, it's number six. You come on up and knock on the door and we'll have a discussion loud enough that we'll get the message across."

Logan nods. "I can do this. You'll see."

xxxxxxxxx

Once Mick and Logan are gone Beth takes up her post at the window, once again watching the building across the street. She scowls as she remembers Josef's time limit on staying in the area. She watches the lights go out in the building and a minute later several men leave, locking the door behind them. From appearances the place looks deserted. She wonders how hard it would be to get in and take a look around. If she could find a paper trail, it would be a shortcut to getting the information she needs for her story. She's sure the building has some kind of alarm but she's watched Mick disable plenty of security systems. She's pretty sure if it's not too high tech she could figure it out. She remembers Mick telling her that people seldom wire the skylights and roof access because most people can't get to them. Beth nods as she notices the building next to the chop shop, is close enough that for her it would be an easy jump. From there she could walk along the edge and open the roof access. This whole thing could be over tonight and she wouldn't have to worry about Logan or Josef or anyone else screwing this up for her.

**xxxxx**

Jean hears ringing and gropes on the side of the tub for his phone. He hates staying a hotel, even a nice one, if it doesn't cater to vampires. It's such a pain in the ass to get enough ice to fill a bathtub and not have the humans asking you what you need it for.

In his grogginess he knocks it into the tub. "Damn." He says as he fishes it out of the ice. He tries to swipe the front but his finger is wet, and it doesn't want to work. He grabs a hand towel off the rack and wipes his hand and his phone so he can answer. "This better be damnable important." He growls.

"I want to you to tell me what you found out. You're voicemail didn't tell me a thing. Have you found out anything or not?"

Damn "Give me a minute to wake up." Jean says and disconnects the conversation.

Lance stares at the phone in amazement. No one hangs up on him.

Jean thinks over what pieces of information he can tell Lance. Whatever he tells Lance he knows he better decide in a hurry because Lance isn't going to stay put for long. He decides he might just play both ends against the middle.

Lance prepares to go to Jean's room and drag answers out of him when his phone rings.

"There are two things I can tell you, one of them is that she has werewolves that are family, and I believe you know that. The other is one of Josef's ex freshies is still living in the mansion with them. She and Ms. Turner are shopping buddies. That's all I know at the moment. With any luck I'll have more information tonight." Jean says.

Lance nods thoughtfully. "Yes, I know about the wolves. I met her father and his mate." For a moment Lance mulls over the idea of trapping Beth's father. Without proper preparation, a reinforced cage or a steel room, keeping her father for very long would be tough. He remembers the female wolf, and that she was early in a pregnancy. He wonders how much pressure Beth and her father would put on Josef to get back her step-mother. Not a bad idea but wolves tend to be so protective of pregnant females, the odds of her being in a place where she would be vulnerable would be slim, but if all else fails it is an option to consider.

"Lance, are you listening to me?" Jean ask

"Yes, continue." Lance says

Jean shakes his head. "Did you hear me say there is also an ex freshie still living with them. She and Beth like to shop together."

Lance nods to himself. Now this is more like it. A human would be easy to maneuver and who in their right mind goes to war over a freshie ex or not? If the human and Beth are close she could be the answer. "I'd like to know how close Beth is to this ex freshie are. That could be a good angle if I need leverage to force Josef to turn Jelena. Good work. Now see what else you can find out about the human." Lance says as he disconnects the phone.

Jean sighs and looks at the dead phone. "Yes, sir. Right away sir." He lays it down and goes back to sleep.

**xxxxxxxxxxxx**

**Comments are always appreciated and encouraged.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Moonlight isn't mine and I have no claim on it or any desire to make a buck off it. These days it's just a place I go to play.**

**This is an ongoing series. It started in 2008 with Rescued. This is the seventh installment. The installment needs to be read in order otherwise it will make no sense. **

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Josef absently rolls a ball back and forth on the pool table. He turns back to Tucker. "Why Emily came to live with us is her story. I won't tell it to anyone who doesn't already know it. Let's just say she had a tough time growing up. Once I decided she would stay, she needed three things, some legal standing, a tutor, and a job. I became her legal guardian. I hired her tutor who confirmed my suspicions. She's has a good mind. She's bright and inquisitive. She's still taking college classes because she likes to learn, despite the fact that she already has her degree. She'll be a good addition to the tribe."

"Stop. Let's back up a bit." Tucker says. "You don't need to tell me her circumstances but the courts let you, a single man, who lives with a woman, another man, and what can easily be described as a harem, become the legal guardian of a fourteen year old female?"

Josef nods and grins widely. "I get what I want and there wasn't anyone to contest it. She has no family except for Henry and being so young, it was easy for the state to find a family for him. I checked on him and he was fine. I did do a little finagling with his adoptive parents and they agreed to let Henry and Emily spend time together every week. With a nudge from my pocketbook they understood that Henry is Emily's only blood relative, and they deserved to be part of each other's lives."

Tucker laughs. "You bribed them?"

Josef shrugs. "It wasn't necessary, they are good people. At first they didn't want to take the money. They agreed the children should be able to see each other, and they didn't want to profit from doing the right thing, but I find that a little money greases the skids and I get what I want all the quicker." Josef shakes his head. "What is wrong for getting paid for doing something good? In the end I told them I intended to start a college fund for Emily and instead of giving them money I would do the same for Henry. That was something they could live with. As for how I got past the state watch dogs, my image for a long time was that of the playboy but as I said, you grease enough palms and that doesn't become a problem. Mick and I were friends but Beth wasn't in the picture for either of us, except for Mick playing guardian angel and no one but me knew what he was doing and the authorities of course don't know about the girls or if they do I persuaded them to ignore their existence. I have people in the government structure here, and I have enough lawyers to line the streets, it's a good combination. Granted none of my usual lawyers work in family law but they all have partners that specialize. It wasn't a problem."

"You didn't have to put up with social worker visits?" Tucker asks

Josef laughs. "Yes, but as I say I have people who can work the system, and they made sure I got the right person assigned to Emily's case. It worked out nicely. Geraldine is an old friend, one of the ex freshies that I put through college. In those days her name was Jeri. She knows me well enough that I was not going to hurt Em or let anyone else hurt her. I recall her saying that Em was far safer here with a house full of vampires that many of the households she dealt with on a regular basis."

Tucker shakes his head. "It's nice to have money, but it seems friends don't hurt either."

"Agree. Now, may I continue?" Josef asks

"Of course. I'm intrigued."

"As for a job she became the chef's helper. I think in fourteen years we've had six chefs. The first one was a woman who doted on Emily. At first Emily bridled under the attention. It had been a long time since she'd had anyone care much about her, but Antoinette won her over and they became very close. Antoinette taught Emily flawless French, it was Antoinette's native tongue. She also taught Em all things cooking the way the French do it. Emily was heartbroken when Antoinette passed on. The next five chef's were all very good and all of them men. I don't think Emily could deal with the idea of hiring woman to cook."

"Emily hired all the chefs after she came here?" Tucker asks in surprise. "She couldn't have been very old."

Josef laughs. "Yes, and the first applicant got a hell of a surprise. Emily came to me and Robert and requested the responsibility. She argued that we don't eat, so it should be left to someone who does. Neither of us had an objection, so we left it to her. She put out the word that my household was looking for a chef with impeccable abilities. She was very specific in what she was looking for in a chef and she received several very high level resumes."

Tucker doesn't know what's coming but whatever it is Josef is very pleased with the result. "And?"

"And she made appropriate appointments. Emily wanted to see what their mechanics were, the processes they used. In other words whether they could cook food people would want to eat. The first one arrived at the appropriate time. He was not happy to be interviewed by a seventeen year old American woman. The kitchen impressed him. I'm told we have a premier kitchen and a well stocked larder. She asked him to cook her breakfast. This was not a difficult request."

Tucker sees the smile peaking out around Josef's fangs as he continues. "He cut up a banana and put it over a bowl of cereal and set it in front of her. Now this is not an unusual breakfast for the girls and he would have been in good stead except he was so condescending to Emily that she'd already decided he wasn't going to work out. She said he kept mumbling insults in French at her all the time he was working. She looked at the cereal and then she looked up at him and he looked at her with contempt. Then she did that thing, she does with her fingers in her mouth to get a high pitched whistle." He snorts. "It's very annoying, but it gets the attention of a vampire rather quickly. Robert immediately entered the kitchen and asked her what she needed. He said she rattled off in her flawless French what an awful ass this chef was and that judging by his food choices he should never be allowed to cook another meal for anyone anywhere."

Josef is laughing now. "Robert said he couldn't help but laugh as the man's mouth drop open. The man then demanded to talk to me. Emily laughed at him and the idiot took two steps towards her. Robert had him by the throat before he knew what hit him. Robert had a couple of quiet words with the man and he left post haste. It didn't take long for word to spread. There is a relative small pool of people who can cook well and be trusted with a vampire's household. She never had that problem again. The next man had an appointment the next day, and as it turns out he'd been an apprentice of Antoinette's and I suspect he wouldn't have been a problem. She didn't suffer fools gladly."

Tucker watches Josef speculatively trying to decide if he should ask his next question.

Josef waves his hand. "Go ahead."

"For the big bad four hundred year old vampire, you seem to find yourself taking care of a more than a couple broken birds."

Josef snorts. "Your description of my friends and family is not appreciated. Some of them have had a tough time of it but they are all strong individuals and I never had to worry that they would find a way to make life work. I just happened to be there when it came together."

"Right." Tucker snorts back.

"Even if you want to look at it in that light, they have all given me a lot in return. Mick is closer to me than most people are with their own brothers." Josef smirks. "And he brought Beth into my life. Kaida most likely saved my life. I was in a bad way when I found her. Caring for her, teaching her, mended a lot of pain I was carrying around from loosing Anya." Josef waves his hand dismissively. "Emily is just Em."

Tucker smiles. "Like I said, big bad vampire."

Josef smiles coldly, fangs doing more than just peaking out. "You forget a few things. It's easy to paint me as pushover when you are talking about the people I care for. When I asked Em who I had to kill, I was not kidding. I would kill for any of them. My friends, my family, my employees and the people in my territory all know one thing about me. I will go to the wall for those people who are loyal, who do the best they can for me, but cross me and they will never find the body." Josef narrows his eyes. "And that is a truth that most of the vampire community knows and never questions. It is one reason I have so little trouble here in comparison to some of the others."

Tucker leans forward. "How did she manage to get you to let her live under your roof?"

Josef thinks back to Emily at fourteen. He shakes his head and smiles. "She was living on the streets, on her own in the world. She had no idea how to survive but she was a quick learner. She stole, she did what she had to, and she survived, but it became apparent to Emily that she couldn't last long term on the streets. It wasn't so much that she didn't have the street smarts; it was more that she was a small girl with no power. She knew it was only a matter of time before she crossed paths with someone who didn't care if they hurt her, or worse enjoyed hurting her."

"Her long term plan was to find a place to hold up. She knew that most public places were going to have security cameras, and the areas that don't would already have people living in them who could be dangerous to her. So she surmised that it had to be private property. She'd seen a magazine in the library, one of those upscale, rich and famous type magazines, where they show homes from start to finish and that gave her an idea. If she could find the right home they might have a stable or out buildings, somewhere she could hide. She found my home by accident."

"Lucky for her." Tucker says with a smile.

"As I said earlier I encourage all the girls to go to school while they are living here. I'm more than happy to pay for their books, tuition, anything they need. At the time Emily was trying to find a place to hide we had a freshie named Tammy that liked to go to the main library down town and study with students in her classes. Emily spent a lot of time at the same library. One day during a break Tammy was bragging about the big mansion she lived in and how it was so roomy that she didn't have to share anything with anyone."

"Just what Emily was looking for." Tucker agrees.

"Exactly. Em followed her when she left but Tammy had use of a car and Em didn't. So Em watched the girl for a couple of weeks and finally Tammy left the car unlocked. Emily took a chance and stowed away on the back floor of the car. Tammy was clueless and drove the pair of them right past security. Once inside Emily got lucky. Tammy came in during the day when the guards are human. Emily found an outside ventilation duct that a workman had left open, and once there, she was home free."

"She was living in your ventilation system?" Tucker asks.

"She was. She lived there for a couple of weeks, only coming out during the day when the house if more or less empty of humans and the vampires are asleep. She stayed out of the freshie's wing since they tend towards some human and some vampire hours. She would sneak into the kitchen and take small amounts of food, use one of the many empty bathrooms always cleaning up after herself. She was an impeccable house guest in that regard."

"You never sensed her?" Tucker asks incredulously, "you never heard her in the system?"

Josef smiles. "No, she was one more female heartbeat in a house full of them. When we were all moving around at night she stayed very still. If she'd of been male we'd of found her right away but she just fit in with the freshies and her hormones hadn't kicked in so she wasn't menstruating. That also would have alerted every vampire in the house but she was a late bloomer."

Tucker grins. "How did you find her?"

Josef points to the vent above Tucker's head. "She was up there but back several feet and she cut herself. Just a nip on a stray piece of sheet metal, but it was enough. The ventilation system brought the smell of fresh blood right to my nose and I knew right away we had an intruder, a human female intruder."

"What did you do?" Tucker asks

Josef laughs. "Sweets from the kitchen kept disappearing. Antoinette thought one of the guards was filching them. When I told her what we suspected she baked some chocolate chip cookies and left them in a cookie jar on the counter. Doctor Stanton gave her a sedative to lace the cookies. Emily hit the floor before she finished the second one. Robert put her in a spare bedroom to sleep it off. She started to come out of it and Robert called me so I could be there when she woke up."

Tucker frowns. "Was she frightened? She must have seen you feed from the girls; she must have known what you, Robert and most of your guests are?"

"Yes, she knew, and no she wasn't afraid, not in the least. Her reasoning was that in all the time she was in the house she'd seen us feed quite a bit from the girls but she also saw that they enjoyed it and that none of them ever suffered. The only thing she feared was going back into the system. Her ingenuity impressed me and we made a deal. She'd do what I and Antoinette told her, work in the kitchen and learn, and in return I would arrange for her to stay. Truthfully if she and Robert make this work and she wants to be turned I'm all for it. I like to see bright minds in the tribe."

"And it doesn't hurt that she's beautiful." Tucker says

Josef laughs. "No, it doesn't. It took us a long time to get her to understand that being beautiful could be a plus not a minus."

"Minus?"

"Yes, I'm afraid her looks had caused her more than a little trouble. Young men and some old ones kept trying to take advantage of her. At some point she'd taken a pair of scissors to her hair and chopped it as short as a young boy. The problem was that all it did was accentuate those beautiful cheekbones and her big brown eyes. I took one look at her in her ratty clothes and her chopped off hair and knew she was going to grow into the stunning woman we have now. I have a good eye for bone structure."

"When she was a freshie did you...?"

"Sleep with her? No, I fed from her but I was too familiar with her as a child. Years ago she had a terrible crush on Mick. She was about seventeen and he was her tragic hero." Josef laughs. "It drove Mick a little crazy for a while, but he was a good sport about it and she eventually grew out of it. So now you know most of Em's story and you see why she will always be one of mine, no matter who turns her. I would readily kill for her as much as I would for Beth or Mick."

Both men turn to the door as Kaida makes her presence known from the doorway. Josef felt her approach when she'd fist appeared. Kaida grins and enters the room. She moves lightly and stands in front of Josef. She bows to him. "Josef, I would like to request your help in turning Tucker." She says in Japanese.

Tucker scowls. "Hey no fair." Japanese is a language he doesn't happen to know and even if he did, he would not recognize Japanese from two hundred years ago when she learned it.

She looks over her shoulder at him. "Shush." She admonishes.

He watches her turn back to Josef. "Master?"

For once Josef doesn't correct her use of the term. He answers her in the same Japanese. "You're sure you're ready, that this." He smiles and waves dismissively at Tucker. "Worthless dog is worth the trouble?"

She smiles broadly at Josef's teasing. "Yes, master. I am. I love him in my heart and I don't want to lose him, at least not for a few hundred years."

"When?" Josef asks in English.

"Tonight." She answers.

He nods. "If you want both Mick and I here to help, it will have to wait. Mick isn't here at the moment."

She shakes her head. "I think it will be fine as long as you're here."

"Good. The house is quiet. Tonight will be fine." Josef says.

Tucker grins looking from one to the other. "Baby, are we a go?"

Kaida turns to him. "We are."

He stands and moves into her arms. He looks over her shoulder at Josef. "Thank you."

Josef nods. "I have an obligation to ask you if you're sure this is what you want, once it's done there is no going back."

"Understood and yes, it's exactly what I want." Tucker replies.

Josef nods, knowing this would be Tucker's answer. "Go upstairs and wait for me. I have to have a word with Robert."

Josef ducks his head in to the kitchen and sees Robert and Emily sitting across the table holding hands and talking. He smiles at the sight. This will work out nicely he's sure. He clears his throat and Emily jumps. Robert turns and tips his head. "Josef?"

"Kaida is going to turn Tucker tonight, so everyone needs to be aware of a fledgling in the house."

"I'll call security right now and have them post guards on their wing." Robert says as he gets up.

"And I'll go tell the girls the rule changes." Emily says "There are no new girls since Christophe and Anna were here so it will be fine."

"Good. And I'll tell Mick and Beth what's going on." They both watch as Josef withdraws.

_Beth?_

Beth stops and almost falls. She stoops down so she doesn't fall off the ledge of the building. She cusses softly but doesn't let it bleed over so Josef asks what she's doing. She calms herself. The last thing she needs is Josef suspicious that she's up to something. _Yes Josef?_

_I just want to warn you that Kaida has decided to turn Tucker tonight._

_That's great. I'm sure everything will go fine. _

_Be sure and stay out of their wing when you come home. Mick's not here. Could you pass the information on to him so I don't have to call him?_

_Sure Josef. Tell Kaida I said congratulations. _

_I will. Now please stay out of trouble and I will see you in a week. _

Beth rolls her eyes. _All right, Love you._

She stands and starts to walk the ledge again. She looks ahead of her and sees the building that houses the chop shop, it's not much farther. She thinks about telling Mick about Tucker but decides she'll tell him when she's done here. Once she searches the place and has the info she needs, she can pass on Josef's message and ask Mick to come get her. Two birds, one stone.

**xxxx**

Chandler looks impatiently at Godard. The short, compact vampire is, in most instances Lance's right hand. "You should have gone to Los Angeles with him."

Godard shakes his head. "He wanted me to stay here." _To keep an eye on you._

"Well, I don't see why. All he has is Jean to help him and he's worse than useless." Chandler bites out. "We need this to work. You were with him the last time he went to Los Angeles to deal with Coraline and St. John. You know the area. I'm sure you'd be more help there, t

hen you are hanging around here."

Godard waits for Chandler to wind down. "Lance will call if he needs my help." He smiles coldly at Chandler. "I do not, under any circumstances answer to you. If Lance wants to change my orders he knows how to reach me."

Chandler is tempted to have the man killed, but he knows that is short sighted. It wouldn't get him what he wants and it would turn Lance against him. "Then go and do whatever he ordered you to do." Chandler waves the man away, dismissing him.

Godard nods and leaves. When he's far enough away he taps out Lance's number. "He's getting antsy. He tried to convince me to go to Los Angeles and help you."

Lance snorts. "Of course he did." Lance didn't have to ask how Godard responded. They have been friends and allies for centuries.

"Lance, have you been able to track Jelena?" Godard asks

Lance growls into the phone. "No. Mason has done a damn fine job of staying invisible. There isn't a paper trail I can follow, and he's gone dark on his electronics. If I could just find them and talk to her, maybe I could get her to reconsider."

Godard hears the frustration in his friend's voice. He doesn't have to ask Lance if he still loves Jelena. "I have a couple of suggestions." Godard offers

"My friend I'll take any help you can give." Lance says

"First you could just wait till Mason and Jelena get to Josef's. You know that's where they are headed. Once you are sure they have arrived, you could just knock on the door and ask to see her."

Lance snorts. "You think Josef would let me in?"

"He might. It's in Josef's best interest for Jelena to talk you out of your present plans. In addition, I think he would agree if Jelena wanted to see you. Being at Josef's and feeling safe she just might assent. What the hell have you got to lose? And if that doesn't work there is also another alternative."

"Which is?" Lance asks.

Godard sighs. He suspects Lance won't like the suggestion but he has to offer it anyway. "Cut your losses. Let me kill Chandler. Then you can liquidate everything but the prime holdings." He laughs. "You can sell it to Josef. He'd be more than happy to buy you out. Actually it would be a seller's market. There are a lot of people who would like to buy you out if it meant you would take your woman and go away. You know your brothers all have large amounts of money tucked away in off shore banks. You've all been skimming off the top for years. Hell it's even slopped over into my accounts. There isn't much left of the legacy anyway. If you do that, Jelena will know you care more about her than the power. Start over with your woman. There's a whole world out there of people who don't know shit about the family Duvall." Godard says.

Lance is so quiet that Godard knows he's thinking about it. "I'll take it under advisement. For now let's go as planned. You keep an eye on Chandler and I'll see if there is a way to make this work. Jean may still come up with some information that will take care of one of my problems. One way or the other I'm going to get Jelena, either as a vampire or a wolf but I'm not losing her."

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**Comments are always appreciated and encouraged**


	13. Chapter 13

**Moonlight isn't mine and I have no claim on it or any desire to make a buck off it. These days it's just a place I go to play…**

**This is an ongoing series. It started in 2008 with Rescued. This is the seventh installment. The installment needs to be read in order otherwise it will make no sense. **

**A/N: this jumps back and forth between scenes. I hope it's not confusing.**

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Jean leans across the bar and motions for the bartender. He lays down a twenty dollar bill. "I'm looking for Simone Walker." The bar tender tugs at the bill but Jean holds it down and raises an eyebrow in question. The bartender nods to a woman sitting in the far corner. Jean lets go of the twenty and it snakes into the bartender's shirt pocket.

He examines the woman, studying her, hoping for a moment before she realizes someone's watching her. Her head is down studying the papers in front of her. The information he's managed to gather on her says that at one time, she was Josef's lawyer and she provided more than legal advice. He doesn't need to see her face to know she must be beautiful. It is however a given that she is not only beautiful but smart. It wouldn't matter to Josef how beautiful she is if she isn't good at her job. He sees her look up to signal the bartender to order another drink. He sees that she is indeed a beautiful woman, her skin sun darkened, and her hair a mix of a million shades of blond. She's wearing a halter dress with a diamond pendant hanging between her breasts. He smiles to himself this might be fun. She goes back to her papers and Jean takes her wine from the bartender. "I will deliver this." He says. The bartender shrugs and returns to his other customers.

Simone looks up as Jean approaches the table with her drink. He sees her stiffen. He can guess that she has no problem identifying a vampire when she sees one. His approach slows. He holds out his hands, still holding her drink, trying to appear as disarming as possible. If she bolts, he'll never get any information from her without force and that is a very bad tactic this far from home. Word could get back to Josef and he has a hunch that from what Mandy said, even though Simone and Josef don't interact any longer, Josef would be more than a little irate if Jean hurt this woman. He leans over and puts her wine in the middle of the table, not wanting to alarm her. He is rather tall, and he knows that can be intimidating to some people so he kneels down with the table between them. "I won't harm you." He says quietly, trying to keep eye contact without seeming aggressive.

She snorts. "I don't do vampires. One was enough. I don't need another broken heart. Go way."

He sees the pain in her eyes and wonders how Josef could have sent her away. This is tricky. If he asks the wrong question, if he tips his hand she's sure to call Josef and let him know there is a stranger asking questions. "Who did this to you?" he asks.

She shrugs. "I did it to myself. No one lied to me; no one told me it would be more than it was. I just didn't listen to my own advice. I got tired of being nothing but food and left."

He shakes his head. He misjudged her. This is a strong woman. She left even though it caused her pain, a realist. "How could anyone think of you as only food? The vampire is a fool."

She smiles and shakes her head. "In truth, he'd already fallen in love with someone else but he wouldn't admit it to himself or anyone else because she belonged to his friend." Simone laughs mirthlessly remembering the advice she'd given Beth that 'vampires only see them as food.' "A year after I left him he turned another woman and now she lives with him. He wouldn't do it for me; I didn't mean enough to him. I was fine as his lawyer and a snack but that was it."

Jean tries to find an opening to talk about Beth. "Was the woman a friend of yours?"

Simone shrugs. "Not really. An acquaintance but I did like her. She is nice, but that doesn't stop me from hating her just a little. I'm no saint. Even though I walked into the…" she hesitates not knowing what to call what she had with Josef. It certainly wasn't a relationship in the traditional sense. "Situation with my eyes open, I can still hate her a little for getting what I didn't."

He motions for the bartender to bring them both a drink and he eases into the chair across from Simone. "I'll tell you what, why don't you tell me about it?" He holds up his hand to stop her interruption. "I can guess there hasn't been anyone you could talk this over with without sounding crazy."

She nods and he continues. "You know what I am; I know you're not crazy. Why not tell me about it. You don't have to use names if you don't want to, just tell me your story. If you can talk it out, maybe you can get past it."

She looks at him suspiciously. "What do you get out of it?"

"I get the pleasure of your company and maybe if you can get this man out of your system, you'll agree to go out dancing with me. Come on. I'm a good listener. Don't tell me it wouldn't feel good to vent a little to someone who won't think you've lost your mind."

She looks down into the wine and sighs. There is something wrong with this set up, she knows there is but he's right it would feel good to talk to someone. Even now there is a raw spot in her heart over what happened with Josef. She decides it can't hurt if she doesn't use names. "All right. You keep buying and I'll talk."

Jean smiles inside. "Start at the beginning."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Josef enters Kaida and Tucker's suite. He sees Kaida but not Tucker. "Where is he?" Josef asks

Kaida rolls her eyes. "He's in the bathtub. He doesn't want to get blood all over the linens and the rest of the room. He has some image of his blood in pools on the floor."

Josef starts to laugh and Jelena joins him. No vampire would waste good, warm, fresh from the human, blood.

Tucker hears them from the bathroom. He gets out of the tub and peaks out the door. "What's so funny?"

Josef shakes his head. "You don't have to worry about blooding the sheets. I'm confident Kaida is not a messy eater."

"You mean she's going to drink all my blood?" Tucker asks

"If she wants to. If she doesn't think she can, I could start and she could finish." Josef says. "Besides," Josef adds. "Our cleaner is good about getting out blood stains. He has to be."

Tucker looks from Kaida to Josef and back again. "Well?"

"I'll take care of it." Kaida says.

Josef points to the bed. "Tucker go lay down."

Josef scowls as he hears the soft tap at the door to the suite. He knows Robert wouldn't interrupt him if it wasn't important. "Come in."

"I'm sorry but I need a minute of your time." Robert glances at Kaida apologetically. "It can't wait."

Josef nods and turns to Kaida "I'll be right back."

Josef leaves the suite and notices that Robert doesn't just turn and tell him what the problem is. He's going back to the main part of the house, which means whatever is going on, he doesn't want Kaida and Tucker to hear what he's going to report. Once they are far enough into the main house, Robert turns. "We have unexpected guests. I just gave the guards permission to pass Mason Duvall and Jelena through the gate. I assumed you would want to speak to them, if only to tell them to go away."

Josef nods knowing as inconvenient as it is, Robert is right. It's always best to know what a Duvall has up his sleeve. "You're sure it's Mason and not Lance?"

"Yes, I had the guard at the gate give me a description. If it's not Mason, it's not Lance either. Lance tends to be easily identifiable." Robert says dryly.

"Alright, show them into the study."

Mason holds up his hand to knock on the door just as it opens. Robert looks between him and Jelena. "Come in."

Mason takes Jelena's hand and they follow Robert through the mansion. Robert opens the study door and nods for them to enter. Mason looks warily at Josef and at the same time wonders where Kaida is. He knows she's here, he can smell her scent all around him. Even after two hundred years he would know it anywhere.

Josef sits at his desk his arms crossed. "This better be important."

Now that they're here Mason isn't sure what to say. Jelena lays her hand on Mason's arm. "Let me." She faces Josef. "Mr. Kostan I'm sorry we're bothering you. I'll get to the point. I need a place to hide from Lance. Mason smuggled me out of France and now I've come to you, hat in hand, hoping you might have some place I can hide until Lance stops looking for me."

Josef shakes his. "Has it occurred to either of you that he might not stop?"

Jelena hesitates. "Yes but I have to try to get away. I can't let him drag me back to Paris. Chandler is so bent on them finding a way to turn me, I just can't take the chance."

"There was a time you were in favor of being turned." Josef says.

She nods. "Yes, of course when I thought it was about staying alive, when Kaida was hunting me and might not if I were vampire. But you took care of that so it seems there is no real reason beyond using me as a club against my people." She sniffs a little and Josef can see that she's trying not to cry. "I thought," she takes a deep breath. "I thought when I went back the last time that Lance and I would go back to the way things were before but it didn't take long for me to realize that it was never going to be the same. Now he's too intent on the turning. What I want doesn't matter."

"I hate to defend Lance," Mason says. "But I think if not for Chandler he would have given up on this idea. For decades he did what father said, and I thought we'd all be free when he did away with Stephan but now he's just transferred to taking orders from Chandler. I thought he wanted to run the family himself but it wasn't that at all. It doesn't hurt that Chandler coaches everything as being for the good of the family, a way to gain more money, more influence, and more power." Mason paces a moment and turns back. "What neither of them has given much consideration to is how this will upset the balance of power between the European families."

"It might be worth it if they'll take care of the Duvall problem for the rest of us." Josef says.

Mason watches Josef for a moment. "If they do this, if they turn a wolf and use the turning as a way to bend the wolves to their needs, you may get your wish. The reason that no one family rules all the others is because we manage to fight so much among ourselves that no one ever gets enough of an upper hand. If Chandler does this, then the other families will put aside their differences to destroy what's left of us."

Josef cocks his head. "What do you mean, what's left of us?" He asks.

Mason shrugs. "Coraline, Remi and father are all dead. Christophe is living his life in Canada with Anna; I'm never going back no matter how this turns out. All that's left is Lance, Chandler and Jean and once Jean sees what's going on he will leave as well. If he is nothing else, my younger brother is a survivor. That leaves Lance and Chandler."

Josef taps the desk with a pencil thinking over what Mason has said. He wonders if there is a way for him to encourage a war between the European families with this information without Chandler actually turning a wolf. It's worth looking into. Josef turns to Mason. "And what about you? Lance isn't going to forgive you running off with his woman."

Kaida starts to get nervous when Josef doesn't come back. "I'm going to see what's holding him up. It must be important or he'd of come right back. If we have to put this on hold I want to know why."

"I'll go with you. No use staying here alone." Tucker says

Before Mason can answer, his senses scream at him that Kaida is approaching.

"Josef," she says as she walks through the study door. "What's…holding…you…" She sees Mason and stops. Their eyes meet and she gasps as memories come rushing back to her. "Mason?"

"Yes Mika it's me." He says softly.

Josef watches, alarm rising, as Kaida walks as if she's in a trance towards Mason. She touches his face. "It's you."

Tucker watches this with growing fear as he sees his woman going to another man.

Mason lets her touch his face. He takes her other hand. "Mika are you alright?"

She stands motionless for a moment. He watches as her eyes roll up into her head and she falls into his arms.

Tucker snarls and makes a move to Kaida, but he's not fast enough. With a quick sign from Josef, Robert pins Tucker to the wall.

Josef moves from around his desk watching Mason as he repositions Kaida in his arms. Josef points to the sofa. "Put her down over here." Mason does as Josef says and then Mason kneels next to Kaida's still form. He tenderly brushes the hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear.

"You better have answers." Josef growls.

Mason nods. "First she needs help. Is Vanessa here, in L.A.?"

Josef shakes his head. "No she's in New York. Why does she need Vanessa?"

"There is a trigger in her mind so that if she starts to remember too much too soon she will crash." Mason looks up at Josef and his eyes are silver blue. "Josef, you'll get your answers, but at the time, it was all we could do to save her."

"We, who?" Josef ask.

"Baron Heinrick was visiting. I think Vanessa had sent him, but that's just a guess. He was trying to gauge Remi's power and see if Christophe had any real potential so I asked him for help. He did what needed to be done."

Josef shakes his head and takes out his phone. He punches up Hank's number. "Where are you?" he asks Hank without any preamble.

"Down at the lake house. Beth is supposed to meet me for her lesson but she's not here." He says

"For once I'm glad she forgot to call you. Get up to the main house, it's an emergency."

"On my way."

"Who did you call?" Mason asks.

Josef tosses his phone on the desk and turns back to Mason. "Baron Heinrick is now called Hank, and he lives here in the states. He's Beth's teacher, and he was down at the lake house waiting for her."

Josef turns next to Tucker. "If Robert lets you lose will you behave?"

"I need to hold her." Tucker snarls.

Josef shakes his head. "I'm not sure that's a good idea."

Tucker growls.

"Who's he?" Mason asks.

"If you hadn't turned up tonight he'd be her fledgling." Josef answers dryly. "His name is Tucker; he's her partner and her lover."

"Let him go." Mason says

"Are you sure?" Josef asks.

"Yes, she needs someone familiar to comfort her, even if she's not conscience."

Robert looks at Josef who nods once.

Tucker is across the room as quick as a human can move. He kneels down and touches her face gently. "Ah baby."

Josef sees the pain in Mason's eyes and sighs. Whatever the hell is going on it's not something Mason planned.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Lance picks up the ringing phone and listens for a moment. He swears and slams it down. He'd thought for a moment there was good news when his man told him that they had a lock on Mason's phone. The bad news is that he'd turned it back on because he and Jelena are both inside Josef's compound and Mason doesn't care of Lance knows it. _Son of a bitch. _

xxxxxxxx

Billy looks down at his watch. He should get back to the chop shop on time for the night watchman's shift he agreed to earlier. He always takes this shortcut through the abandoned housing. He stops, staying the shadows, when sees three of the men he's supposed to be meeting. They are carrying a woman. Her hands and feet are bound and there is a cloth bag over her head. Even bound as she is she's fighting them like a wild cat, screeching and calling them every four letter word she can think of. They set her down and one of the men grasps the bag and pulls it off her head. Billy freezes when he recognizes Beth. He's seen her a few times when she's come to the club to see Daniel and Angie. He watches as they wire a pier block to Beth's ankles. He thinks about changing to his wolf and trying to stop the scene in front of him but he knows they are all armed. He might be able to take one down but he'd never get all three.

xxxxxxx

Beth hears the splash and then she feels the water bubbling up around her. She tries to swallow an involuntary scream. She knows she doesn't have to breathe and this won't kill her but that doesn't stop the instinctual fear that hits her when the weight, wired to her feet pulls her below the surface of the water. She feels the pain in her ankles as the concrete pier block pulls her to the bottom of the murky pool.

_Shit, shit, shit. Mick and Josef are going to kill me. _

Xxxxxxxxxxx

Mick walks through the door to Josef's study, Hank is right behind him. They'd run into each other at the front door. Mick tried to question Hank about why he was there, but all he would say was that Josef called him and wants to see him right away. Mick sees the group huddled around Kaida where she lays on the couch unconscious. He looks at Josef. "What the hell is going on?" Hank peers around Mick to see what he's talking about and then he too sees Kaida.

Hank looks questioningly at the woman on the couch "Mika, is that you?"

Josef frowns as he notices Hank also calls Kaida by a name she doesn't remember, but Mason is right, his questions can wait. "Help her. Mason says you did once before." Josef says

Hank nods and moves to her. He lays his hand on her forehead. He glances at Mason. "You could have called me and told me you were going to pop back into her life and given me a chance to lay the groundwork."

Josef stiffens as he feels Beth's panic and then hears her inadvertent mental scream. He swivels to look at Mick. "Did you hear that?"

Mick nods his head. "Yes," fear etching both men's faces.

Mason starts to ask what they are talking about, but Josef makes a motion to shut him up.

"Beth is in trouble." Josef says after a moment. He and Mick face each other, both men concentrating on Beth.

**Xxxxxxxxxx**

**Comments are always encouraged and appreciated.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Moonlight isn't mine and I have no claim on it or any desire to make a buck off it. These days it's a place I go to play.**

**This is an ongoing series. It started in 2008 with Rescued. This is the seventh installment. The installment needs to be read in order otherwise it will make no sense. **

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxx**

If they were trying to kill her they could have at least thrown her in a pool that hasn't been sitting stagnant for whoever knows how long. Beth tries to look through the murky water, but visibility is lousy. She's sure there are lily pads, frogs and things she's sure she doesn't want to know about in this muck. It doesn't take but a moment and she is at the bottom, in twelve feet of nasty swamp water in an abandoned swimming pool. She looks into the murky water and sighs inwardly.

Apparently it's harder to disable a security system than she thought. At first her plan had gone a long fine. She'd jumped from one building to the next, found a minor security contact on the roof hatch; she'd disabled it, and dropped down onto a catwalk. The interior was dark, and she was in a hurry, and she didn't stop to make sure she was alone. She was sloppy and Mick was going to kill her for her carelessness alone, never mind the rest of it. She dropped down off the catwalk, and given herself a moment to get her bearings in the dark. That was when she realized there were humans in the building. Now that she was bothering to listen, she could hear their heartbeats. She'd been sure the place was empty or she wouldn't have tried to gain access. Damn. As she squatted to make the leap, back to the catwalk, every light in the building came on and three armed men spilled out of a windowless office. They surrounded her. She could have disabled them, but showing her true self was out of the question. It would have meant that she'd have to kill them to keep them quiet. That wasn't something she was willing to do unless she had no alternative.

After that things went fast. They didn't ask her any questions; they didn't care why she was there. They'd grabbed her, dragging her to a car in the alley and here she is, at the bottom of a damn swimming pool with her hands zip tied behind her. Out of reflex she'd taken a deep breath when they thrown her in the pool, she lets it out and watches the air bubbles until they disappear in the gloom. At the same time the foul water rushes into her mouth. The water is putrid, and she wishes the last of her taste buds were dead. She stares hard at the surface, but even with her enhanced sight the water is too clogged with muck. She wants to let out a yell at the sudden pain as she tries to get free, but remembers the taste of the water and keeps her jaw clamped tight. It's a good thing her body heals fast and is immune to disease. There is no telling what a human with an open wound would pick up in this stagnant mess. She tries to snap the bindings, but the zip ties are flexible enough there is no way to get any leverage, except against her own wrist and that hurts like hell. She'll do it if she has to, but she wants to see if she can find another way out. She tries to pull her legs lose of the cement block but again, no leverage and no way to even jump straight up.

She imagines three men on the side of the pool slapping each other on the back, congratulating each other for a job well done. She smiles coldly. They haven't seen the last of her that is for sure. One way or the other she will get even with them. She closes her eyes trying to think of a way out. The last thing she wants to have to do is call Mick and Josef for help. She'd rather put up with the pain of trying to snap the zip ties.

_Beth? Damn it you answer me now!_ Josef snarls.

_Josef, Mick?_

_Where are you?_ She hears Mick growl.

Crap. Somehow they know she's in trouble. _I don't know, but I'm not hurt._

_What do you mean you don't know?_ Josef snaps

_There was a sack over my head so I don't have a clue where they took me_.

_What's around you? Describe the area. Are there houses or industrial warehouses?_ Mick asks

_Ah, I don't know. I'm at the bottom of a swamp, scratch that, it's a swimming pool that's been sitting stagnant for a long time. It's icky down here._

Mick nods. _So you're most likely in an abandoned residential area._

Billy watches from darkness of the over grown bushes and sees the men drop Beth over the side of the pool. His first response is to change into his wolf and attack the men but he realizes that won't help Beth. Wolves don't swim very well and he's going to need fingers to get her free. If he were older he could change back and forth easier but at his age one change is tiring, two changes will put him to sleep. He's real glad she's a vampire so she won't die down there waiting for him to get to her. He watches as the men stand around quietly talking. The biggest one, Lenny, slaps the man standing closest to him on the back. "Let's get out of here before someone gets curious. We don't want her found."

Beth struggles under the water.

Billy watches them go. When he hears the car drive off, he breaks cover and quickly strips. He takes a deep breath and dives in. As he dives he's thankful that the weight tied to her ankles most likely pulled her straight down and he won't have to search through the muck looking for her.

Beth feels the water move and wonders if they've thrown someone else in here with her. She feels a hand grip her leg, and she stiffens. The hand traces its way down her leg and she can feel someone try to free her.

_Oh my god Oh my god_

_What?_ Josef asks as fear for her strikes his heart

_Someone is down here; someone jumped in and is trying to free me_

Mick and Josef exchange a look of relief.

_Keep talking. Tell us what's going on._ Mick says

She pulls on her leg but she's still stuck. She realizes her rescuer has gone back up the surface.

_Whoever it is, had to go back up to the top, I think for air, so it's not a vampire._

It doesn't take long and the hands are back and soon one of her legs is free. She wishes he would free her hands, and she could do this all by herself.

_One of my legs is free of the wire._

Billy goes back to the top for air and dives three more times. Finally he gets her legs free. He takes her arm and tows her back to the top of the pool.

_I'm free. Whoever freed me is pulling me to the top._

Mick grabs his keys and looks at Josef. Josef looks around him. He wants so much to go with Mick but knows since Beth isn't hurt he has an obligation to stay here with Kaida. He needs to find out what the hell is going on with her and Mason.

_You're sure you're not hurt?_ Josef asks one more time.

_No. I'm fine_. Beth answers

Josef opens his desk drawer. He pulls out the keys to the Ferrari and throws them to Mick. "Take the Ferrari. It will be faster, besides I need a new one."

Mick smiles at Josef as he catches the keys. "Thanks."

"And Mick, grab a bottle of blood. She may need it even if she's not hurt. Who knows how long it's been since she fed."

Mick nods. "Good idea."

Josef nods and watches Mick leave.

_Beth I'm on my way._ Mick says

_Okay. Give me a minute to find out where I am._

Beth spits out large amounts of the foul water when her head breaks the surface. She treads water, but she doesn't see how she's going to get out of the pool with her hands tied.

Billy pushes Beth towards the side and hops out. He grabs her under the arms from behind before she starts to sink. He drags her up and over the side. He falls breathlessly on the ground behind her. She can hear him panting, with the exertion of saving her. She winces as she hears him throw up. "Are you all right?"

He turns and throws up, the last of the foul water empties out of his stomach and he stands. He's a little wobbly, but he knows with a little food he'll be okay. "Yea, I'll be fine. I'm not human."

Beth sighs with relief. The last thing she needs is someone dying because they rescued her.

xxxxxxx

Hank looks at Josef. "Are you going to be all right?"

Josef growls again

Mason can see what this is costing Josef. "You don't have to stay." He says.

Josef nods. "I know but she's all right….it sounds like humans attacked her, they tried to kill her. They didn't know what she is, so the attempt failed."

Mason turns back to Hank to answer his earlier question. "I didn't think after all this time seeing me would affect Kaida like this and I didn't know you are living in the area."

Hank looks down at Kaida then to Josef. "All right, the blocks are back in place. She will sleep for a few hours."

"Good. Robert will stay with her while you two tell me what the hell is going on." He looks down at Tucker who's sitting on the floor next to Kaida holding her hand and speaking softly to her. "And you are coming with us."

Tucker starts to protest but Hank breaks in. "It's best that there are no humans close to her when she wakes. I'm sure she's fine, but I'd rather you not be next to her until she gets reoriented."

Tucker shakes his head. "She won't hurt me."

"All the same," Josef says. "Wouldn't you like to know what these two did to her?"

Tucker wants to punch something or someone but holds his emotions in check. "Yes, I would."

Jelena silently follows the men as they leave the room. At least she's safe for the moment. She knows her problems have taken a back seat to what's going on with both Kaida and Beth.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Mick speeds out the front gate. He hasn't heard anymore from Beth but he has a hunch her killers didn't get very far from where she was staying so he heads in that direction, waiting for Beth to tell him where to go to pick her up. The fear for her is easing and anger is replacing it. He knows her so well. He should have seen this coming. He squeezes the steering wheel trying to get a handle on his temper. He knows she did something crazy because of Josef's forced the time frame and Mick trying to send help to her through Logan. He pulls his phone out and brings up Logan's number.

Logan punches his phone but his focus stays on the game in front of him. "Hey." He says.

Mick frowns at the phone. "Logan? It's Mick."

"Oh, sorry. Give me a minute." Logan puts the game on pause and picks up the phone. "Is there something else I can take to take to Beth?"

"No, I'm afraid there's not. Logan, I'm calling off the field trip." Mick tells him.

"Ah, come on. Tell Beth I know I can make this work. I won't give her away."

Mick can hear the disappointment in Logan's voice. "It's not that. I got a call from Beth. Someone tried to kill her so her cover is already blown."

"But she's ok?" Logan asks

"I'm on my way to pick her up now. I'm sure she's fine. It was humans." Mick reassure's him.

"Did we do it? Did we give her away?" Logan asks thinking about their trip to her room.

"I doubt it. I have a hunch she did something crazy and pushed her luck. I'll know more when I see her."

"Okay. Tell her I said hi and I'm sorry it didn't work out." Logan says

"I will and thanks." Mick hangs up.

Beth tries to sit up but with her hands still behind her back she's stuck. She tries to turn to see who rescued her, but she's not having much luck. She thinks she hears someone moving around. "Can you help me up? Could you cut the zip ties?"

"Give me a second." He says. "I need to finish getting dressed." She hears a zipper going up and guesses he's got his pants on. She feels him get behind her and he pushes her up into a sitting position and comes around to face her.

"Hey, you're the kid I saw coming out the back door of the chop shop tonight." She narrows her eyes at him, trying to place him. "I know you from somewhere."

He nods in recognition. "My name is Billy. I belong to your father's pack. I was working for the guys in the chop shop. I'm going to be in trouble when Daniel finds out what I've been doing."

Beth's face brightens. "That's right. I've seen you working in the kitchen at the club." She sees the worry on the young man's face. "I don't know if it will help but I'll try to see what I can do about him being mad. Saving me has to count for something." Beth thinks about Mick and Josef. "At least you only have one person who's going to yell at you."

Bill nods but doesn't hold out much hope.

"Hey do you think you can cut the zip ties. I really am no use until I can get out of these things." Beth says

He looks at her bound hands. "I don't have a way to cut them. I've heard that vampires, when they turn, have really big claws or talons or something. Can you change your hand and reach back and cut them that way? We've got to figure out something so we can get out of here. I'm afraid one of those guys will come back."

Beth thinks about it and remembers what she did with Mandy. She's only done that when she's furious but there's always a first time. "Maybe, give me a minute." Beth concentrates on letting her fingers and nails elongate into razor sharp talons and she does as Billy suggested and bends her hand back, pulling her hands apart to tighten the zip tie. All it takes is one quick hit with her talons and the zip ties fall away. Beth smiles and rubs her wrists as she brings them back to the front of her. She smiles up at Billy. "It worked. Great idea. Thanks." She says as her hands return to their human form.

He reaches down and pulls her up.

"Thank you so much. That was so brave of you to dive in and pull me out." She says

"I couldn't leave you down there. Let's get out of here."

"Wait a second." Beth says as she takes the zip tie and throws it back into the pool and watches them sink. She tries to get some of the muck off of her and tosses it back as well. After a minute she realizes it's futile. "All right. Do you know where we are?"

Billy points north. "Malone's is about two miles in that direction. Can you can make it?"

Beth nods. "No problem. She looks at him a little worriedly. How about you? It had to be harder on you saving me, than it was for me to be down there."

"I'm ok, but I'd move faster if I changed." He tells her.

"Ok, go ahead." Beth says.

He looks at her a little embarrassed and it dawns on Beth he wants to strip so she turns her back.

"Thanks." Billy mumbles. If she were a wolf he wouldn't think twice about stripping in front of her but…. she's not. He quickly gets out of his clothes and lets his wolf take over.

Beth hears a quiet bark and turns around. "Oh, you are so cute." She says as she picks up his clothes not wanting to leave any clues that anyone but the men who put her in the water have been here.

Billy shakes his head and starts to run north. Beth runs after him, letting him lead. She could probably move faster but she's not about to lose him now.

_Beth, are you still okay? Do you know where you are now?_ Mick asks.

_I'm fine. Is Josef with you?_

_I'm not._ Josef says. _Kaida is having a bad time. I'm sorry but since you're not hurt I have to stay here with her._

_Did something happen to Tucker? Did something go wrong with his turning?_ Beth asks

_No. We never got that far. She'll be all right and I'll explain when you get home. I'm sorry I'm not coming to meet you._

_Josef, it's all right. I love you and I'll see you soon_.

_Mick, can you meet me at Malone's? We'll be there in a few minutes._

Mick lets out a sigh of relief. _On my way._

xxxxx

Jean sits in his room thinking about the information he'd gotten from Simone. She didn't tell him much more than he already knew, but there is one startling fact. It's clear; he misjudged Josef's relationship with Emily. Simone was explaining to Jean that Josef is capable of caring a great deal about a human; as an example she explained that Josef had set up a large trust for Emily. Of course Simone didn't use names, that had been the deal, but Jean was smart enough to put the pieces together. He tried to get more information, but he sensed Simone getting suspicious so he backed off. It seems remarkable to Jean that Josef would go to such lengths unless there is a lot more to the relationship than Jean understands. Why, Josef set up the trust doesn't really matter, that he did it, is proof that kidnapping Emily could be disastrous.

He thinks over his options trying to decide the best way to use the information. He has a few choices. He can keep the information from Lance and hope Lance takes Emily and Josef kills him. This has the advantage that he would be free of the family, because there wouldn't be anybody left that would care enough to come looking for him. The downside is, if Josef finds out Jean knew Lance might take the girl, Josef might be more than a little angry that Jean didn't warn him.

Another option is, Jean could wait until Lance takes Emily, and go to Josef with the information as to where Lance is keeping her in exchange for sanctuary from the family, but again Josef might be mad if he finds out Jean didn't warn him.

Jean could also prevent Lance from taking the girl at all, if he tells Lance that Emily is not what she appears and Lance will have to find another way to force Josef to do his bidding. Doing things this way gets him nothing.

Lastly he could always go to Josef now, and bargain everything he knows for sanctuary…This has the advantage of him getting to live in L.A. or Vegas or any number of places in Josef's territory worry free.

Jean paces his room thinking about Simone. He can't imagine why Josef let her get away. Jean had to be very careful when they were talking. He had to back off a couple of times because he could see she was getting suspicious. There is only one thing more enticing than a beautiful woman and that is a beauty with brains. After he and Simone talked, he still couldn't get her to go dancing with him, or even let him buy her dinner, but that doesn't really matter, because when it comes to something he wants he can be very patient.

There is one more problem though, if he uses the information he got from Simone and Josef traces it back to her…It wouldn't take her but a minute to know that their meeting hadn't been an accident, that he'd set her up. His goals as he sees them are twofold. He wants to be either, free with Josef's protection or he needs Lance dead, and he wants Simone. Now he has to figure out how to make those things happen.

Xxxxxxxxxx

Simone picks up the phone and stares at it. She sighs and puts it down, walks across the room and scowls out the window. She knows she has to make the call but admitting to Josef that she was stupid does not come easy. She's a damn fine lawyer, she finished at the top of her class and after a lot of hard work she's a partner in a prestigious law firm, but book smarts apparently don't trump a broken heart.

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

**Comments are encouraged and much appreciated.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Moonlight isn't mine and I have no claim on it or any desire to make a buck off it. These days it's just a place I go to play…**

**This is an ongoing series. It started in 2008 with Rescued. This is the seventh installment. The installments need to be read in order otherwise it will make no sense. **

**Xxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Josef looks at the three men sitting across from him. He focuses on Mason since he seems to be the crux of the problem. "You start. I want to know exactly what happened to Kaida."

Mason sits back. "Can I get a drink? This story needs a drink."

Josef waves him over to the bar. "Just do it and quite stalling."

"I'm not stalling." Mason says as he pours himself a drink. He tosses back the shot of bourbon and pours himself another. He turns and leans against the bar. He seems relaxed, but Josef can sense, more than see that Mason is poised to run. In addition, he has placed himself by the French doors that lead to the terrace, and the easiest exit out of the room. Whatever Mason is going to tell him about Kaida's condition, it's clear he's sure it's going to make Josef mad. "Begin." Josef snaps.

"Kaida's full name when she came to us was Mika Oonishi. If I had to guess I'd say she was maybe seventeen years old, a very young seventeen years old." He shakes his head at the memory of her. "She was part payment, along with silks and spices, for rifles and cannons. There was a feudal skirmish in Japan and she got caught up in it. Her captures knew father's predilection for her type."

"Type?" Tucker bites out.

Mason decides to sit down. If Josef is going to kill him running isn't going to stop him. Mason glances at Tucker and then questioningly at Josef. He's sure Josef has a sense of where this is going. "Are you sure?" he asks Josef.

Grim faced Josef nods for him to continue. He knows this is hard for Tucker, but Kaida is going to need Tucker's support getting through this, and to do that, he's got to know what she endured.

Mason bows his head and looks down into his drink, not wanting to face Tucker. It shames him that he never found a way to stop Stephen. "Yes, father liked them in their teens and virginal." Mason looks up to face Tucker. He sees the toll this is taking on Kaida's lover and wishes there was another way. He takes a drink of the bourbon. "Stephan chained her to his bed. You can guess what that existence entailed." The bitterness in his voice is unmistakable. "Most women had their spirits broken inside of a week. Fortunately, or unfortunately, Mika wasn't going to fade away. Somehow that quiet young woman found the strength to fight Stephen every step of the way. I'm sure it didn't stop him from raping and feeding from her but she kept fighting him. She was still fighting three weeks later when he finally got bored with her. I don't know how she did it, how she kept her sanity."

Josef nods to himself as he remembers the look of defiance he saw in her eyes the night the Duvall's presenter her to him, along with a host of other slaves as payment for goods that the Duval's owed him. It was the reason he taken her out of there.

Mason looks at Josef's face and wonders again if Josef will kill him when he is done with his story. "At that point Stephan informed me that I would be turning her. I tried to refuse, but she was still in there, he hadn't broken her, and he said if I didn't turn her he would kill her. So I did it. I couldn't say no after she'd fought so hard to stay alive, to stay sane. I turned her. She's mine." He glances at Tucker. "I mean that in the familial way. I never touched her, except to drain her blood and give her mine."

Tucker stands, he walks over to the wall and puts his fist through it. Josef sighs. "Shit. This it isn't going to do Kaida any good." Tucker numbly pulls his hand back. He looks down at his fist, not feeling anything but the rage of knowing what Kaida went through before he was ever there to protect her. Josef gets up and goes over to the bar. He grabs the ice bucket, sees that it's half melted and hands it to Tucker. "Put your hand in here. Maybe it will stop the swelling."

Hank sees a chance to take Josef's focus of Mason for a moment. "I was there testing Remi and Christophe for Vanessa. Of course none of them knew that it was for her. I had no idea any of this was going on until Mason came to me."

Mason continues. "Ten days after I turned her, Stephen told me to send her down to the stables so they could put her to work. I argued until he started back handing me, and kept arguing with him until the guards dragged me away. Ten days wasn't enough, she was going to go feral, and after everything she'd been through, she was going to be killed anyway. I realized this had been Stephen's plan from the beginning. This was never about Mika. He was getting back at me for once again refusing to kill on his command. Father always knew I was a better fighter than Lance. I'm faster and smarter but I refused to kill at his whim. It was the one line I refused to cross. The only reason he didn't have me killed is he had too much fun finding ways to punish me."

"This is a prime example of why I helped Lance kill Stephen," Jelena says quietly.

Mason raises a glass to her in a toast. "And one of the reasons I've been so willing to help you. You helped free us all from that monster."

Hank now gets up and pours himself a drink. "That's where I came in. Mason knew I'm a telepath. He explained what Stephen had done to Mika and asked me if there was any way I could wipe her memory so that she wouldn't go feral. I had no idea if it would work, but I could see it was her only chance." Hank takes a sip of his drink. "He smuggled me into his room and I went into her mind and blocked everything from the time she first came to that house of horrors, including Mason."

"Then I left my rooms and the next morning I had a couple of servants take her down to the stables." Mason says.

"I told him that it was best if she never saw him again, that the turning is so intimate, even between strangers that it would screw up what I had done." Hank says

Josef taps his pen on the desk thoughtfully. "Well it didn't work entirely. She doesn't remember Stephen, but she does remember being brutalized by Lance. I know she remembers that much, because she told me herself when I started training her and she stopped having flashbacks."

Mason shakes his head. "Josef, that can't be right. Lance wasn't there, he has no idea what happened with Mika. The only ones who knew, who turned her was me, Stephen, and Hank. I never told anyone and I'm sure Stephen never gave it another thought. I think Lance believes that her vendetta is from her time with Stephen and her slavery. Father was predicable enough that Lance didn't need to be home to know what Stephen had done to her. I also think he believes Stephen turned her. Josef, Lance was out chasing down Coraline. She had stolen some family heirloom. Stephen sent Lance to retrieve both."

Josef looks at Hank. "Is that right? Lance wasn't there?"

Hank shakes his head. "Yes, that is correct. Lance and I have never been on good terms. I would have remembered if he'd been there."

"Josef think about this, of all of Stephen's children, which of us favored him the most in build and looks? Two hundred years ago Lance didn't have that black eye. She could have easily confused the two of them." Mason says

Josef nods silently. If Hank wasn't here to back up Mason's story he might be inclined to dismiss it, but it does make sense that Kaida would confuse Stephen and Lance.

"That's not to say that Lance hasn't done reprehensible things. He has killed people who deserved it and he's killed people who didn't. He is capable of killing an innocent to further his goals." Mason eyes Jelena for a moment and then continues. "That said, Lance would never admit to it, but I believe he is unable to assault a woman," he smiles sardonically, "kill yes, but rape, no. I don't believe he could harm a child either."

"What makes you think that?" Josef asks, not believing it for a minute.

"Because he saw too much of both at the hands of our father, we all did."

"Many times, those that are abused turn into abusers." Josef says quietly.

"I'm sure you're right but not in this case." Mason says stubbornly.

"What about Coraline? She certainly had no qualms about hurting a child." Josef asks

"She didn't harm Beth. She may have scared her, but she didn't do any physical damage and whether you and Mick want to believe it or not, she wouldn't have."

Josef shakes his head. "I can see where having lived under Stephen's rule, you wouldn't be able to see that mental abuse can be just as damning as the physical. You may not know any better. If Mick hadn't come to Beth's aid…I hate to think what would have happened." Josef leans forward. "Coraline was going to turn a child. That's about as bad as it gets."

Mason shakes his head. "She wouldn't have done it and I don't believe she ever intended to. I think she would have been perfectly happy to have a human child in the house if it would have placated Mick."

"What is it with you and Christophe and this twisted view you both have of Coraline? The bitch was not some fallen angel like the two of you seem to think." Josef says in disgust and anger.

Mason stands, pain and anger etched in his face. "Maybe, because we knew her, before Stephen did so much damage to her. We both know there was goodness in her." He slams his drink down. "You weren't there to see what Stephen did to our little sister while we stood by and did nothing to save her." He chokes out. "Only Remi, screwed up Remi, ever tried to help her. The rest of us were too fucking cowardly." He collapses back into the chair.

"That's enough." Hank says as he steps between them. "Coraline and Stephen are dead. What Lance will or won't do remains to be seen, and you two arguing over it isn't getting us anywhere that will help Mika." Hank shakes his head. "It's remarkable that she has those memories no matter how vague and confused they are. If she remembers that much she may make it through this better than any of us thought. I read her memories when I blocked them out and that is the worst of it."

Josef leans back and then narrows his eyes at Hank. "You've been coming here twice a week for how long? Why didn't you tell me who she was?"

"Because in all the time I've been coming here, I never saw her. When I first started working with Beth it became apparent that she needs quiet to concentrate so we started meeting at the lake house, which was long before Mika and Tucker came here. I had no idea that the woman Beth knew as Kaida was Mika. Believe me Josef, I'd of said something if I'd known." Hanks says

"All right, what you say makes sense, as to why she doesn't remember her sire. I can understand that, but I don't understand why she doesn't remember her birth name. For a long time I thought she just didn't want to tell me what it was, but over time I decided that she doesn't know it. If you only took her memories from the time she showed up at Duval's then why doesn't she remember?" Josef asks

Hank sighs. "She has never dealt with quite a bit of her original trauma, probably as a result of the memories I blocked. I'm sure it's lead to all kinds of blocked memories beyond what I did. A mind is a complicated place."

Mason is rolling his drink back and forth between his hands. "This is the first time I've seen her in two hundred years. I knew who she became because I stood in the shadows and watched you take her out of there with great pleasure. I was sure you would treat her far better than we were doing."

"You gave Lance the background on her without telling him you turned her." Jelena says thoughtfully.

"Yes," Mason says. "I wanted Lance to realize just how much danger you were in when Lance's enemy paid Kaida to kill you. I didn't want Lance to take the threat lightly thinking he could protect you. He had to know that Kaida had a personal stake in killing you," he tosses the rest of his drink down and smiles warily at Josef. "And who had trained her."

Josef turns to Mason. "Did you know she was here when you came here tonight?"

Mason nods. "Yes, Christophe told me but only because he thinks she wants to kill all the Duvall's."

"Why did you come here when you knew it was possible it would harm her?" Josef says.

Mason looks at Josef the pain in his eyes. "Josef, it was selfish of me, but I wanted to see her again and I knew that if she was here you would provide her with whatever she needs to get through it. I just wanted to see her. It hurt so much when I had to send her away."

Josef remembers well how he felt when he'd lost Anya. "You could have given me some warning."

"I was afraid you wouldn't let me see her." Mason answers quietly.

Josef thinks about it for a minute and nods to himself. He's not sure Mason isn't right. He would have protected her from this if he could have. Josef turns to Hank. "I think it's time she remembers."

Mason stands shaking his head. "It would be better if Hank could try to block what she thinks Lance did to her. There is no reason for her to carry around those memories."

xxxxxx

Beth points to the door, and looks down at Billy whose still four legged. "This one?" she asks

He barks at her.

"Okay, okay. I'll do it. Just give me a second." Beth says. She lifts her hand and knocks on the door.

The door is answered by a tall man wearing a chef's hat. She remembers meeting him on one of her visits to the club. His name is Kurt.

"Billy, what are you doing? Beth is that you?" Kurt asks

She nods and tries to take a step into the kitchen. "Can we come in?"

He blocks her entry with his large body. "Are you hurt?" He asks

Beth shakes her head. "No. We're both fine."

"Is anyone chasing you? Are you in danger?" he asks, looking into the darkness over the top of her head.

"No." Beth says

"Then no, you can't come in. Not in my kitchen, not smelling and looking like that." He looks down at Billy. "You take her to the rear fire door, and I'll have someone with a key come open it for you."

Billy barks at Beth and she tries to smile. "Okay, I get it. Let's get moving. I have got to get cleaned up." She tries to keep the impatiens out of her voice. She looks down at herself, in revulsion. The muck on her clothes and skin is starting to dry and stiffen and Beth knows if she doesn't get it off soon she's going to start thinking about what's caught in her hair and start screaming.

Kurt closes the door and picks up the phone for the internal paging system. He makes the page and hangs up. It takes but a minute for the phone to ring back to him. "Daniel, Beth and Billy need to be let in through the rear fire door. From the looks of them, I think you might want to be the one to let them in."

"Are they hurt?" Daniel asks.

"No, but something is going on. They tried to get me to let them in the kitchen door and they are so stinky and dirty I had to send them to the fire door." Kurt says.

Daniel sighs. "Thanks. I'll see to it."

Daniel is half way down the stairs from his office when he meets Rafe coming up the stairs. "Come with me. Something is up with Beth and Billy."

Rafe snorts and turns to follow Daniel. "Now there is a likely pair for trouble if ever there was one."

Daniel opens the door and waves his hand in front of his face as soon as the smell hits him. "What in the world have you two been doing?"

Beth sighs. She should have known the chef would call Daniel to let them in. She'd hoped to be in and out of here before he knew she was on the premises. She looks down at herself and shakes her head. It might be easier to explain to him in a way that wouldn't get her in so much trouble, but she knows she's covered from head to toe with the evidence. She'd rather explain after the fact, way after the fact, so she could leave out the worst of the details. Now she is going to have, both he and Mick wanting to know what happened and Mick is never going to be satisfied with a sketchy explanation. "It's a long story. Is there a place I can get a shower? Maybe I can barrow some clothes?" The desperation is clear in her voice.

"Of course you can. Come in." Daniel looks over his shoulder at Rafe. "Go get Lisa."

Rafe nods and walks away. Daniel moves out of the doorway and looks down at Billy as he follows Beth into the room. "You know where to go to get cleaned up." He tells the young wolf. "I'll have Kurt make you a couple of big roast beef sandwiches; we'll get some protein in you so you don't fall asleep right away. When you're cleaned up, get the sandwiches from the kitchen and bring them to my office. You are going to help explain just what the two of you have been up to."

Billy whines for a moment and then trots off but Beth notices his tail is between his legs.

Lisa and Rafe approach and Lisa stops when she gets close enough that the smell hits her. "Whew, what on earth have you been into?"

Beth rolls her eyes and smiles at Lisa.

"Show her where the employee showers are. Get her something out of the pack stash. There's bound to be something in there that will fit her." Daniel says. "Then take the clothes she has on, and put them in the dumpster or burn them or something."

Lisa nods. "With pleasure. Come on Beth."

Beth starts to follow Lisa but stops and turns back to Daniel. "Mick is on his way to pick me up. When I'm done, I'll just wait out front for him."

"Oh, no you don't. I want you to come to my office when you get done. You can sit and relax while you wait for Mick. I can't have my daughter sitting on the doorstep like forgotten newspapers."

"You don't have to trouble yourself." Beth says, but she can see by the look in his eye he's not going for it.

"Oh, it's no trouble. If you think you might get lost finding my office I can leave Rafe down here to wait and show you the way." Daniel says trying to sound helpful and sarcastic all at the same time.

Rafe grins at her.

Beth waves him off. "No, it's fine. I'm sure I can find my way." Damn.

Daniel tilts his head. "Is Josef with Mick?"

Beth shakes her head. "No, there's an emergency at home. He couldn't come."

"I'll tell the bouncer to bring Mick to my office, he can meet you there." Daniel looks at her intently. She thinks for a minute he's trying to use his alpha powers on her and starts to object when it another thought finds its way into her head. Maybe this is how fathers act when their kids are in trouble. The thought warms her a little.

"Come to my office when you're done." Daniel says again.

"Okay." Beth says. Her focus turns to getting the awful muck off herself.

Once she's in the shower and has most of the slime and gunk washed off her she decides she needs to talk to Josef. _Josef?_

_Are you safe?_

_Yes, I just wanted to tell you I'm at Malone's. My dad knows I'm here and I'm not in any danger._

_Thank you. I needed to hear that. Who pulled you out?_

_He is one of Daniel's wolves, a kid, about sixteen or seventeen. His name is Billy._

Josef smiles at the memory of Billy telling Daniel he would throw Josef out of his office for him. Beth hears Josef laugh in her mind.

_Do you know him?_

_Yes, we've met. Tell him I owe him one._

_I will. I love you and I'll see you soon._

_Yes, I think there is some explaining to be done. _She hears the growl in her mind as he cuts off the connection.

**Xxxxxxxxxxx**

**Comments are always encouraged and welcome.**


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